In a vote that mostly followed party lines, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected an amendment that would have written net neutrality regulations into federal law. According to the story from CNET News.com, eBay and Google took part in last-minute lobbying efforts in hopes of getting the amendment approved.

In the past I've come out against net neutrality regulation, and that stance hasn't changed. One thing that I've come to realize as this debate has rolled on is that the public in general, and the blogosphere specifically, has become a greater net neutrality watchdog than any government agency could ever hope to be. Any fine levied by the FCC or Justice Department or some new policing entity will most likely be absorbed by the giant ISPs as a slap on the wrist. A black eye in the press leading to the loss of customers and revenue is much harder to explain to shareholders.

The fact that a net-neutral option should remain available for the next couple of years, giving customers a choice, is enough to keep net neutrality intact. Collectively, we need to be the watchdogs so if/when an ISP decides to get cute with its pipes, customers realize it. — Brian Ward

Go to story from CNET News.com

Technorati tags: net neutrality, internet, regulation.