• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, November 8, 2007

The recent revelation that Comcast was slowing down traffic to file-sharing sites like BitTorrent raises a host of questions, not least of which is what other ISPs are impeding service.

Now, some high-profile industry players including Web evangelist Vinton Cerf and Slashdot's Keith Dawson have formed a new group, the Network Neutrality Squad, to ferret out other examples of ISPs blocking traffic.

"The project's focus includes detection, analysis, and incident reporting of any anticompetitive, discriminatory, or other restrictive actions on the part of Internet Service Providers," reads a statement on the new organization's Web site, nnsquad.org.

Meanwhile, advocates including Free Press and the Consumers Union last week filed a complaint with the FCC seeking an injunction against Comcast and damages for the company's move to interfere with traffic. "If the FCC does not immediately condemn such actions, Comcast will continue to block or filter revolutionary, socially valuable applications and content, and other broadband service providers may follow suit," the complaint states.

Comcast's position is that it's just managing the flow of traffic. "We engage in reasonable network management to provide all of our customers with a good Internet experience, and we do so consistently with FCC policy," executive vice president David L. Cohen said in a statement.

While Congress hasn't enacted net neutrality legislation banning ISPs from blocking or impeding traffic to certain sites, the FCC in 2005 issued a statement of support for net neutrality in principle. But that document has a footnote saying that ISPs can engage in "reasonable network management."

But Comcast's interpretation of that footnote doesn't hold much sway with Free Press and other advocates who filed the complaint. "If degrading applications was 'reasonable network management,' the policy would mean nothing," they argue.