Occupy Google Protestors Arrested Defending Net Neutrality
Technology firms that include Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter have today called for the FCC to restrict ISPs from striking deals with the government that would endanger net neutrality. Occupy Google

A group of major US technology companies has demanded that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from creating "fast lanes" for websites willing to pay for faster data speeds.

The Internet Association, which includes firms like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter, made its official case for net neutrality regulations in a filing against the FCC on Monday.

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"The Commission must act to protect its open and neutral architecture, which is the force behind the internet's success," the group said.

"The internet is threatened by broadband internet access providers who would turn the open, best-efforts internet into a pay-for-priority platform more closely resembling cable television than today's internet."

The first net neutrality regulations were enacted by the FCC in 2010, however US lawmakers ruled in favour of the US ISP Verizon in a case that made the rules redundant earlier this year.

Since the ruling, over half a million US citizens have written to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler with regards to net neutrality. Tomorrow, the "first round of comments" to the FCC will conclude, meaning all 647,000 comments will become public.

In the coming weeks, the Internet Association will carry out a publicity campaign about the FCC's forthcoming proposal, encouraging internet users to come up with changes and amendments in order to protect net neutrality and restrict ISPs and mobile carriers.

"We're going to be getting pretty vocal about this issue," Michael Beckerman, president of the Internet Association, told Reuters. "It doesn't make sense anymore to differentiate the way net neutrality applies to mobile and wireline."

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