海角大神

A day after President Obama renewed his calls for a 鈥渇ree and open Internet鈥� in Tuesday鈥檚 State of the Union Address, the new Republican-led Congress is set to open debate Wednesday for new legislation meant to preserve the controversial principle known as 鈥渘et neutrality.鈥�

At issue is how the Internet should be regulated. Should Internet providers like Comcast and Verizon be allowed to make "fast lanes" for content they want to prioritize, or should the government step in to ensure that providers treat all web content the same?

Republicans have generally sided with the Internet providers 鈥� and therefore against net neutrality. But a of a bill floated by Republicans in Congress last week suggests that they are adjusting their stance 鈥� though critics say the move could ultimately do more harm than good.

The Republicans' draft bill would put into law many of the FCC鈥檚 鈥渙pen Internet鈥� rules, which were thrown out by a federal court last January when Comcast and Verizon each successfully challenged the agency鈥檚 regulatory authority. For example, it would prohibit providers such as Comcast and Verizon from blocking any lawful content, giving their own produced content faster delivery to consumers, or creating 鈥渇ast lanes鈥� 鈥� prioritized, faster speeds for companies who pay an extra fee.

Previously, many Republicans had called such net neutrality regulations 鈥淥bamacare for the Internet,鈥� saying they were the invasion of big government onto the web (though such regulations had been in place from the Internet鈥檚 start).

But a coalition of tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and more than 100 others lobbied Congress in support of net neutrality. Republicans were left in the position of defending an industry that .

Republicans tout the new bill as a compromise position.

鈥淏y turning the FCC away from a heavy-handed and messy approach to regulating the Internet, this draft protects both consumers who rely on Internet services and innovators who create jobs,鈥� said Sen. John Thune (R) of South Dakota, in a statement.

Critics say the bill leaves too much authority in the hands of providers. It includes provisions that will limit the authority of the FCC to enforce these rules and prevents the regulatory agency from creating any new rules beyond those stated in the bill.

鈥淚f you connect the dots in this bill, it begins with, 鈥榃e affirm a commitment to competition and openness,鈥� 鈥� says Aram Sinnreich, professor at Rutgers University鈥檚 School of Communication and Information in New Brunswick, N.J. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 just empty rhetoric when it goes on to detail the ways in which it will prevent federal regulators from making sure that these things won鈥檛 happen. It鈥檚 a 鈥榯rust us鈥� bill. 鈥楬ey, trust Comcast, because of course they have your best interests at stake.鈥� 鈥�

More significantly, perhaps, the bill would make broadband an 鈥渋nformation service鈥� rather than a 鈥渢elecommunications service.鈥� The distinction is crucial. The federal court gutted net neutrality rules last year because the FCC had designated broadband as an information service in 2002. That designation, the court said, limited the FCC's regulatory authority.

In February, the FCC can re-designate broadband as a telecommunications service, which would give it sweeping regulatory powers. Mr. Obama has urged the FCC to do this, saying the nation鈥檚 Internet cables are now just as essential to the American way of life as its water lines and electrical grid.

By designating broadband Internet a information service by law, the Republican bill would head off this effort. For that reason, the bill could face a presidential veto, even if it passes the House and Senate.