Keeping the Net neutral

A coalition of big-name tech companies -- Microsoft, Amazon, eBay and others -- wants the feds to make sure that cable companies don't ruin the broadband Internet.

Late last year, these firms joined together with a few consumer groups to form the Coalition of Broadband Users and Innovators, a lobby that aims to prevent cable companies from shaping the future of the Internet. "A cable company is used to operating in the cable world, and it's routine for them to pick and choose content," says Waldron, who represents the coalition. "In the broadband world there's no need to pick and choose" -- but what if the cable companies do so anyway, giving some Internet content preferred status on their network, and banishing other stuff altogether?

Read more: [URL=http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/08/12/net_neutrality/index_np.html]Salon.com[/URL].