About a dozens protestors call on the agency to reclassify broadband as a regulated utility.

This fall's presidential election certainly will not tip on the candidates' views on technology policy, but for industry groups and a slew of inside-the-beltway types, issues such as cybersecurity, net neutrality and spectrum reform are matters of deep concern.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to kill network neutrality rules approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in December, with majority Republicans arguing the regulations amounted to a government takeover of the Internet.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission's vote Tuesday to approve new network neutrality rules received mixed reviews, with broadband provider Verizon Communications appearing to question the agency's legal authority.

Google and Verizon Communications have released a proposal that would give the U.S. Federal Communications Commission limited power to enforce network neutrality rules, including levying fines up to US$2 million for violations by broadband providers.

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission did not have the authority to order Comcast to stop throttling peer-to-peer traffic in the name of network management.

Google's talk of a broadband network is likely to reignite debate.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, in taking the first step toward creating net neutrality rules earlier this year, has reignited a contentious debate about government regulation of the Internet.

AT&T on Friday accused Google of violating the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules by blocking Google Voice calls to some rural areas.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has formed an "Internet Access Task Force" to examine whether net neutrality advocates' fears of large broadband providers blocking or slowing Web content from competitors are justified, the agency's chairwoman said.

A net neutrality law isn't needed because the U.S. already has antitrust laws that would keep broadband carriers from acting in an uncompetitive manner, Internet pioneer David Farber said Monday in a debate against TCP/IP co-creator Vinton Cerf.