Representative John Conyers (D., Mich) and Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif) have reintroduced a bill that would subject broadband providers to antitrust violations if they block, filter or slow Internet traffic.

Rep. Conyers is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. In 2006, House Democrats sought to introduce such legislation to protect consumers, but they didn't have a majority in the House, and Net Neutrality legislation was defeated by Republicans.

At the time, Republicans likely felt that a pro-business stance was better served by not enacting legislation that could tie the hands of businesses. In the last two years, that conventional wisdom has been called into question by practices that failed to serve users of the Internet well.

"Americans have come to expect the Internet to be open to everyone," Mr. Conyers said. "The Internet was designed without centralized control, without gatekeepers for content and services. If we allow companies with monopoly or duopoly power to control how the Internet operates, network providers could have the power to choose what content is available."

The legislation was praised by some consumer and online rights groups. "The bill squarely addresses the issue of the enormous market power of the telephone and cable companies as the providers of 98 percent of the broadband service in the country," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. "The bill restores the principle of nondiscrimination that allowed the Internet to flourish in the dial-up era, making certain that the same freedom and innovation will flourish in the broadband era without burdensome regulation."

The Net Neutrality bill will likely face a long uphill battle in the House and Senate before it becomes law. However, recent events involving provider abuse will go a long way towards removing the doubts of even the most pro-business Republicans.

If passed, that's particularly good news for Apple since some content creation companies have come to believe that bypassing iTunes is a necessary strategic move. Behind the scenes deals between major ISPs and content providers that violate Net Neutrality could be viewed as one weapon against iTunes unless the Internet is held by law to its original charter, as Rep. Conyers explained.