'Net Neutrality' Back on D.C. Agenda

You didn't think they'd give up on that power-grab, did you?

One topic that could get renewed Congressional attention, however, is Net neutrality. In a case pending for nearly two years at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Verizon and MetroPCS are challenging the legality of the Federal Communications Commission's 2010 "Open Internet" order, more commonly known as the Net neutrality rules, which prohibits ISPs from blocking lawful Web content. Should the FCC lose its case, the fight could return to Congress.

So far, Congress has resisted a decade's worth of calls to pass legislation establishing a role for the FCC in governing Internet access or content. But in a keynote address on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) argued that a key House subcommittee should focus on user protections.