Net neutrality: FCC scolds Comcast, but does not fine

The subject of net neutrality has been occupying a lot of discussion bandwidth over the past several months; the basic discussion point has been about whether the internet service providers can discriminate between the different types of content flowing through their pipes. The current policy is that users have the right to do whatever they want with their internet connectivity; so if they want to do file-to-file sharing or downloading videos, then the service provider is not supposed to tell them whether this is a permissible activity or not. The various internet providers in the United States have been advocating that such a policy prevents them from being able to make improvements in their networks.
After all, the biggest flow of internet information is typically with sites that promote P2P (and for torrent and others, this is a client to client exchange without going through a central server), or with users downloading videos or watching live videos. The ISP's have wanted to be able to set limits on this, and this is something that has just been blocked by a divided decision of the Federal Communications Commission:

Federal regulators issued a warning to all Internet service providers Friday with a sharp rebuke of Comcast Corp. for blocking some customers from using file-sharing technology. By a 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission found that the cable company failed to tell its subscribers about the blocking, lied about it when confronted by the commission and tried to cripple online video sites that compete with its on-demand service.
Supporters said the FCC decision would set a landmark precedent in the battle over whether Internet service providers can give priority to certain types of traffic, an issue known as network neutrality. The FCC ordered Comcast to stop the blocking and provide details about its Internet practices, but declined to fine the Philadelphia-based Internet service provider, the nation's second-largest. Public interest groups, online activists and large Internet companies fear that cable and phone companies will start charging websites for faster delivery of their content or block access to sites that offer competing services.

It is not at all difficult to believe that if ISP's are given the permission to be able to set limits on certain types of data movement, then they could take this a bit further and set up deals with sites to promote their content or let it move faster. The internet cannot be made hostage to the machinations of ISP's and their corporate interests.