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The New York Times | Editorial
Wednesday 03 January 2007
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One of the big winners in the last election may turn out to be the principle, known as net neutrality, that Internet
service providers should not be able to favor some content over others. Democrats who are moving into the majority in
Congress - led by Ron Wyden in the Senate and Edward Markey in the House - say they plan to fight hard to pass a net
neutrality bill, and we hope that they do. It is vital to preserve the Internet's role in promoting entrepreneurship and
free expression.
Internet users now get access to any Web site on an equal basis. Foreign and domestic sites, big corporate home pages
and little-guy blogs all show up on a user's screen in the same way when their addresses are typed into a browser.
Anyone who puts up a Web page can broadcast it to the world.
Cable and telephone companies are talking, however, about creating a two-tiered Internet with a fast lane and a slow
lane. Companies that pay hefty fees would have their Web pages delivered to Internet users in the current speedy
fashion. Companies and individuals that do not would be relegated to the slow lane.
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