The Federal Communications Commission voted Friday to punish Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, for blocking users’ access to the open Internet.

AP: FCC Rules Comcast Violated Internet Access Policy

In a landmark decision, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein approved an “enforcement order” that would require Comcast to stop blocking and publicly disclose its methods for interfering with Internet traffic.

Tests by the Associated Press and others showed that Comcast blocks users’ legal peer-to-peer content by sending fake signals that cut off the connection between file-sharers. Today’s decision follows an exhaustive FCC investigation, launched in response to a complaint from Free Press and Public Knowledge urging the federal agency to stop Comcast’s blocking.

“The FCC’s bipartisan decision to punish Comcast is a major victory,” Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, said in a statement. “Defying every ounce of conventional wisdom in Washington, everyday people have taken on a major corporation and won an historic precedent for an open Internet.”

Comcast’s history of deception and continued blocking show contempt for the online consumer protections established by the FCC.

“Today’s order makes it clear that there is nothing reasonable about restricting access to online content or technologies. Moving forward, this bellwether case will send a strong signal to cable and phone companies that such violations will not be tolerated,” Silver. “But the fight is far from over.

“A duopoly market — where phone and cable companies control nearly 99 percent of high-speed connections — will not discipline itself. We look forward to working with the FCC and Congress to ensure proactive measures keep the Internet open and free of discrimination, and accessible to all Americans.”

Read the Comcast Complaint here:

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Tags: FREE Free Internet

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