Free and unfettered access to the internet is becoming a centerpiece of the new administration’s agenda for both the legislative and executive branches. Congress made computer geeks very happy with a few lines of fine print added to the stimulus package last week: the Open Internet Access Rules stipulate that no Internet Service Provider is allowed to regulate a users internet access based on web traffic or content.  If ISPs do not comply, they won’t see a single cent of the $6 billion slated for increasing broadband networks. University students have often been the primary targets of litigation brought by the Recording Industry Association of America and ISPs alleging large bandwith use as a sure sign of illegal file sharing. On Wednesday, in yet another show of favor for unregulated internet access, the FCC’s chief regulator used his last official act in office to deepen the probe into Comcast for illegally blocking access to file sharing sites and offering better signal to subscribers using Comcast’s Voice Over Internet Protocol program. Under federal law, Comcast must offer equal internet services to users of non-Comcast VOIP programs (such as Skype). Democratic sources told The Hill that the new chief regulator for the FCC will be Julius Genachowski, who advised President Barack Obama on his technology agenda during the campaign, and is known to be an ardent supporter of a free and unfettered internet. A Wall Street Journal blogger wrote a piece about the recent FCC actions and offers readers a program called “SWITERZLAND” which claims to test IP connections for illegal regulation by ISPs.

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