• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, September 7, 2007

The Department of Justice has entered the net neutrality debate, weighing in against new laws that would prohibit Internet service providers from degrading service to certain Web sites or establishing tiered pricing.

"The FCC should be highly skeptical of calls to substitute special economic regulation of the Internet for free and open competition enforced by the antitrust laws," stated the DOJ in papers filed with the FCC Thursday. "Marketplace restrictions proposed by some proponents of 'net neutrality' could in fact prevent, rather than promote, optimal investment and innovation in the Internet, with significant negative effects for the economy and consumers."

Among other arguments, the DOJ says that there's no reason for the government to step in with regulations, because Internet service providers haven't yet taken any steps to degrade service. The DOJ argues that pro-regulation forces "provided scant evidence that consumers are being harmed by the business practices of Internet industry participants."

Of course, that argument doesn't take into account that some telecoms are on record as saying that they would like to implement tiered pricing or other systems that will charge companies like Google higher rates than less-trafficked Web businesses. In fact, late last year, AT&T agreed to follow net neutrality principles for two years in order to obtain approval for its merger with BellSouth. That pact will probably encourage all telecoms to follow suit, but only for as long as the two-year period lasts. After that, it's anyone's guess what will happen without government intervention.