The outspoken Labour MP for West Bromwich East, Tom Watson, has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) that seeks to force the UK coalition governments Minister for Communications (Ed Vaizey) into reversing his course of support for a two tier internet and shunning Net Neutrality (principal of treating all internet traffic as equal).

On Wednesday Ed Vaizey effectively backed proposals by Ofcom that would ignore Net Neutrality and allow big broadband ISPs the power to effectively favour some online content over others (here), depending on who paid them the most cash. This risks giving big ISPs the power to bully content providers and websites into paying for the privilege of being seen, just so long as they are "open" and "transparent" about it.

Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the UK governments House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they are often used for publicising the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.

EDM 1036

INTERNET NEUTRALITY PRINCIPLE 17.11.2010

Watson, Tom

That this House expresses its concern at the recent comments made by the Minister for Communications and Creative Industries that internet service providers should be allowed to abandon the principle of internet neutrality and prioritise users' access to certain content providers; notes that Open Internet has delivered competition, innovation and unlimited access to new services; further notes that Open Internet has played a pivotal role in enhancing democratic participation and freedom of expression; believes that abandoning the principle of internet neutrality will stifle online innovation and lead to websites paying internet service providers to ensure their content gets priority; does not believe that mere transparency is likely to lead to protection of customers and citizens from harm, especially as ISPs seeks to lock their customers into long-term bundled service agreements with telephones, televisions, mobile telephones and internet; and calls on the Government to act against internet service providers who may seek to restrict customers' internet access for market advantage through minimum service guarantees.

At the time of writing Watson's EDM has been online for two days and yet only managed to attract the support of just 3 other MP's, none of which are from Labour. In any case EDM's are rarely debated and this one already looks destined to flop.

The reality is that, like it or not, the government has a lot of support for its stance on Net Neutrality; at least politically. The kind of extreme widespread abuse that people fear simply hasn't happened yet and regulators cannot regulate without evidence of market harm.

Natural market forces will also make it extremely difficult for big ISPs to abuse their positions. Stifling the very content that makes people want to use them is a dangerous game. Likewise the government has warned internet providers to be open and "set out in detail the extent of their traffic management" measures.

The ball is now firmly within Ofcom's court, which has gained support for its initial proposals that mirror the government's position. The European Commission (EC) has also taken a similar line, albeit one that is more outspoken about the need to prevent market abuses. However in order to succeed Ofcom will need to make sure that ISPs don't simply hide such details away in their small print, which would be of no use to consumers.