I. Background

Extreme simplification: Net Neutrality is the concept that the internet should be content and application neutral. The idea is that an internet service provider (ISP), such as Comcast, should not be able to discriminate against or block content — i.e. block the New York Times but allow the Wall Street Journal to reach its customers. An ISP should also be application neutral — i.e. if I want to use Vonage instead of Comcast’s own VoIP, I should be free to do so. This is a large topic and these selections are meant to address the issue from a non-technical perspective.

Introduction to Net Neutrality: Tim Wu Network Neutrality FAQ. Read the main text column on the site.
http://timwu.org/network_neutrality.html

II. Network neutrality Act of 2006 Debate

In 2006, the Network Neutrality Act of 2006 was debated in congress but never became law. The bill, introduced by Rep. Markey, legislated content and application neutrality. The debate over the Markey Bill and others highlights the different positions on net neutrality.

• You can look through the Markey Bill. Network Neutrality Act of 2006. H.R. 5273.
  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.5273:
• If you have a desire to, you can also look at another bill that was introduced. Rep. Sensenbrenner introduced the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006. H.R. 5417.
  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.5417:

Watch (if you have access, if not it is not necessary) — Daily Show with Jon Stewart clip (2006), Net Neutrality Act:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-19-2006/net-neutrality-act

Read — Adam Penenberg, Internet Freeloaders, Slate Magazine, Jan. 17, 2006:
http://www.slate.com/id/2134397/

Read — Tom Tauke, Say No to "Net Neutrality" Rules, Bloomberg Businessweek, Mar. 16, 2006:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2006/tc20060316_119464.htm

III. BitTorrent Incident

Read — Marguerite Reardon, Comcast Denies Monkeying with BitTorrent Traffic, CNET, Aug. 21, 2007:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9763901-7.html

Read — Peter Svensson, Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic, MSNBC.com, Oct. 19, 2007:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21376597/

IV. BitTorrent Fallout

After Comcast was caught throttling BitTorrent, Comcast agreed to stop throttling and to disclose its network management practices. Additionally, the FCC proposed net-neutrality rules

Read — Nate Anderson, FCC Proposes Network Neutrality Rules (and big exemptions), Ars Technica, Oct. 22, 2009:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/fcc-proposes-network-neutrality-rules-and-big-exemptions.ars

V. Comcast Case

Comcast challenged the FCC’s power to regulate the internet.

Read — Comcast v. FCC, 600 F.3d 642 (D.C. Cir. 2010)
http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/201004/08-1291-1238302.pdf

VI. Net Neutrality Proposals

Read — Cecilia Kang, FCC Votes to Seek Comment on its New Legal Strategy, Washington Post Tech Blog, June 17, 2010:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/06/fcc_votes_to_seek_comment_on_i.html

Read — Testimony of Tim Wu, House Committee on the Judiciary, Network Neutrality: Competition, Innovation, and Nondiscriminatory Access (2006)
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=903118#

Gerald Faulhaber and David Farber, Int’l J. of Comm. 4, 302-42 (2010), The Open Internet: A Customer Centric Framework,
Read the introduction, pages 12-32, and page 35.
ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/727/411

Read — Verizon-Google Legislative Framework Proposal
http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fgoogleblogs%2Fpdfs%2Fverizon_google_legislative_framework_proposal_081010.pdf

Read — Eliot Van Buskirk, Here’s the Real Google/Verizon Story: A Tale of Two Internets, Wired.com, Aug. 9, 2010
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/google-verizon-propose-open-vs-paid-internets/