14 DAY TRIAL // The House Judiciary Committee yesterday approved the legislation that backs Internet neutrality, through which Internet providers are barred from charging companies for priority access.
"The Committee, in a bipartisan fashion, understands that this legislation will provide an insurance policy for Internet users against being harmed by broadband network operators abusing their market power to discriminate against content and service providers," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner
"While I am not opposed to providers responsibly managing their networks and providing increased bandwidth to those consumers who wish to pay for it, I am opposed to providers giving faster, more efficient access to certain service providers at the expense of others," he added.
The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act (HR 5417) was approved by a 20-to-13 margin.
However, the faith of Internet neutrality is yet to be decided, the bill having to be considered by full House.
Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee recently expressed his support for Internet neutrality. He said at an Edinburgh conference that the US companies are trying to change the concept, which will lead to strange situations.