July 5th, 2006
Google: Net neutrality fight may move to court
If net neutrality ultimately is rejected by Congress, the battle will likely move to the courts, Google VP Vint Cerf asserted at a conference yesterday, Reuters reports.
"If the legislators … insist on neutrality, we will be happy. If they do not put it in, we will be less happy but then we will have to wait and see whether or not there actually is any abuse," Vint Cerf, a Google vice-president and one of the pioneers of the Internet, told a news conference in Bulgaria.
"If we are not successful in our arguments … then we will simply have to wait until something bad happens and then we will make known our case to the Department of Justice’s anti-trust division," he said on Tuesday.
"My company, along with many others believes that the Internet should stay open and accessible to everyone equally," Cerf said.
"We are worried that some of the broadband service providers will interfere with that principle and will attempt to use their control over broadband transport facilities to interfere with services of competitors."
Another court battle might be brewing between the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. The FTC believes it should have jurisdiction over broadband Internet services, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) suggested turf war may wind up at the Supreme Court.
