`Comcast/Bit Torrent Decision.'

`Comcast/Bit Torrent Decision.'
One of the biggest technology and economic policy issues of our day has been getting a lot of press lately, because of a recent court ruling called the `Comcast/Bit Torrent Decision.'

Comcast, America's largest internet service provider, was sued by a customer in 2007 for `throttling' his service - that is, deliberately slowing it down because he was downloading large video files. Comcast did not refute the charge, but instead, challenged the legal basis of the FCC to regulate the supplying of service in the first place.

After 3 years of knocking around, the D.C. Circuit Court agreed with Comcast. This was a stunning and unexpected decision, which has called into question two important and interrelated policies with far-reaching political and economic impact -