While the FTC assesses the impact of behavioral advertising, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearings continue on Net Neutrality. Refer article by Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service on PC World Business Center entitled "FCC Net Neutrality Hearing Draws Diverse Views".

As reported by Lawson:

"The dynamic Internet, perhaps the most expansive and liberating technology since the printing press, is, in fact, under threat," said FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. "We will keep it open, we will keep it free, only if we act forcefully to make that happen.”

One of the recent big hullabaloos was over Comcast’s alleged blocking of peer-to-peer file sharing by its customers (refer "Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic" … a practice known as ‘crowd shaping’ to block out the bandwidth hogs. They’ve got a business to run, right? Bandwidth is expensive. Unlike some countries where bandwidth usage is actually charged on usage basis, ‘unlimited’ plans and fiber optic to the house provide the promise of cheap, unlimited access … unless you’re a hog.

A few safe bets:

• Public debate will continue over advancements in technology and the social impact – on multiple fronts … privacy, freedom of speech, net neutrality ...

• Economically, billions of dollars are at stake … the revenue base now attached to the internet is staggering and will continue to grow at a dramatic pace …

• Internet participants will continue to push the boundaries of the internet ...

• Digital media convergence will continue ...
  

digg    del.icio.us