A controversial plan for keeping digital arteries open to all

WHEN he was still a mere senator, Barack Obama pledged to take swift action to ensure that the internet remained a level playing field if he were elected president. After Mr Obama’s victorious campaign, some folk predicted that this issue would be sidelined as the new administration grappled with more pressing matters. But on September 21st Julius Genachowski, the head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), fulfilled his boss’s promise, unveiling a proposed set of rules to govern the way that data flows around the internet. Some aspects of the FCC’s plans were criticised by telecoms firms, which claim that the government is meddling without cause.

At the heart of the spat is the principle of “net neutrality”, which holds that network operators should treat all internet traffic equally. It also stipulates that packets of data should be held back only if they are illegal or risk upsetting the smooth running of a system. Proponents of net neutrality say it reinforces the internet’s role as a spur to innovation by preventing the networks’ traffic wardens from hindering access to sites that could become the next Google or Facebook. …