FCC sanctions Comcast for throttling BitTorrent traffic, orders network management disclosure

The Federal Communications Commission votes 3-2 to sanction Comcast Corp. for "secretly" throttling peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic, particularly BitTorrent applications used for distributing large files. Comcast had degraded bandwidth for P2P uploads without disclosing the practice to customers. The FCC order, adopting precedent from its 2005 Internet Policy Statement, requires Comcast to stop throttling and disclose its network management practices. The decision represents the first time the FCC enforces net neutrality principles against an ISP for discriminatory traffic management, though it relies on ancillary authority rather than explicit statutory mandate.