On the one hand, there is a victory in the FCC's recent Net Neutrality proposal: the FCC is proposing that Internet Service Providers can't limit access to certain websites or limit speeds of downloads.

Imagine if Comcast could throttle Netflix streaming speeds so that the quality never reaches HD, unless you pay them extra for that. That's what this tries to limit. Unfortunately, there is also a clause that the ISPs can conduct "reasonable network management." That could end up being a pretty big loophole for them.

The other big issue: cell phone carriers can conduct a lot more "reasonable network management" than the ISPs. As more and more Internet traffic goes mobile, this could be a huge issue. A carrier, like AT&T or Verizon, could cut off access to data-intensive phone apps or charge a surcharge for them.

This is different than just putting thresholds on data usage. Being able to limit by the kind of content is the issue. One of the main reasons we have had the explosion of innovation online is that the ISPs and cell phone carriers cannot interfere with the content passing through their pipes.

All this is still up for debate, since the proposal hasn't passed. But this could be really bad.

More at the New York Times.