New Net rules in US to draw cheers, challenges

New York

FOR those who have spent more than a decade fighting for stricter regulation of the Internet, the official publication of the rules in the Federal Register, expected as early as on Monday, will give reality to their latest victory. For those opposed, it is likely to touch off a flurry of lawsuits.

The rules, approved in February by the Federal Communications Commission after months of heated debate, will forbid Internet service providers to speed up, slow down or block a consumer's access to any particular content. Barring any court intervention - some think that is unlikely, given the challenge of proving immediate harm - the rules will go into effect 60 days after publication.