Net neutrality, which is the concept that all traffic on the Internet be treated the same, is a founding principle of the Internet, as noted by Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited as the father of the Internet, and who strongly supports net neutrality. To many, Comcast's recent moves to charge more for Netflix traffic are just the first of many corporate anti-net neutrality moves, which could lead to such things as consumers paying more for access to Skype or even Facebook. In fact, a recent presentation showed that such proposals are already ongoing.
That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the possibilities. Many have also expressed concern that existing corporations could work to block start-ups' access to the Internet.
Despite this, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week re-introduced the oddly-named "Internet Freedom Act" (.PDF), which is designed to prevent the FCC from enacting net neutrality rules. Toothless or not, the FCC could always toughen the rules in the future.
The definition of a corporation is what drives concern over letting corporations self-regulate. After all, a corporation must, by law, attempt to maximize profits for its shareholders. With a little common sense, one can see that maximization for profits for, say, Comcast, could include throttling or even blocking Netflix, so Comcast could promote its own Xfinity service.
A statement on Blackburn's website claim the rules are a "hysterical reaction to the hypothetical problem of anti-competitive online behavior." Comcast's moves show the problem is not hypothetical.
