State governments push for Net neutrality laws

[Robbien]

By Anne Broache
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

As a U.S. Senate panel prepares for a vote on Net neutrality legislation this week, state attorneys general in New York and California are joining Internet companies in saying that network operators must not be permitted to prioritize certain broadband content and services.

In a letter sent Friday to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, urged the adoption of a proposal called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act. This is the first time that state officials have entered the Net neutrality debate.

"Congress must not permit the ongoing consolidation of the telecommunications industry to work radical and perhaps irrevocable change in the free and neutral nature of the Internet," wrote Spitzer, who is running for governor in the fall election. He was referring to the recent mergers between AT&T and SBC Communications and Verizon and MCI.

Backed now by nine Democrats and one Republican, the Internet Freedom Preservation Act would generally bar all network operators from making special deals with content providers to ensure speedier delivery or improved quality of service and would be require them to offer all Internet material on an "equivalent" basis.

http://news.com.com/State+governments+push+for+Net+neutrality+laws/2100-1028_3-6088164.html