The term "net neutrality" is important to every Internet user. Yet, its precise meaning remains hazy at best to the majority of the American public.

So what exactly is net neutrality?

The phrase refers to the unwritten rule of the road that has governed the Internet since its beginning -- that all Internet users deserve equal access to online information. The idea here is that a 40-year-old electrician in Cleveland, Ohio, should be able to access Amazon.com just as easily as a 20-year-old college student in Gainesville, Fla. It doesn't matter what Internet service provider (ISP) they use. Whether it is Verizon or Time Warner, ISPs should be 'neutral' to the content their customers consume, as long as it's legal. 

In recent years, ISPs have begun to backtrack on this principle. In 2007, customers accused Comcast of 'throttling', or purposely slowing down, downloads through the file-sharing protocol BitTorrent. ISPs argued that their ability to discriminate between bits of information is necessary to conserve bandwith and give customers a quality online experience. They said the practice was necessary given the ever-growing number of individuals using the Internet. 

Internet rights groups oppose this rationale and advocate codifying net neutrality. They said that the open Internet enabled companies like Google, Skype and Facebook to reach their current prominence. There is also fear that an ISP such as Verizon may choose to block a service like Skype because it competes with Verizon's mobile phone business. 

Barack Obama supported net neutrality during the 2008 campaign. After his inauguration, he appointed Julius Genachoswki, a net neutrality supporter, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In December 21, 2010, the FCC approved a plan to implement net neutrality regulations in a 3-2 party-line vote.

The FCC's new rules prevent broadband ISPs from blocking lawful content and other Internet services. President Obama, in praising the FCC's passage of the rules said, "Today's decision will help preserve the free and open nature of the Internet while encouraging innovation, protecting consumer choice and defending free speech."

Many stakeholders were unhappy with this decision. Congressional Republicans contend that net neutrality is an unnecessary government intervention in the Internet that will serve to stifle innovation. President Obama threatened to veto a House GOP-led effort to repeal the regulations in April, 2011. Undeterred, this month the Republican-controlled House of Representatives stripped FCC enforcement funding of net neutrality from the draft of the Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Services Appropriations bill. 

The FCC decision also provoked the ire of communications companies. Verizon and MetroPCS filed suit in federal court to overturn the rules on the grounds that the FCC had overstepped its regulatory authority. A judge dismissed the suit on the grounds that court challenges cannot be brought until rules are promulgated in the Federal Register. Their publication had been delayed for several months. It is only after publication that Congress may begin steps to alter the rules and plaintiffs have standing to challenge them in court. 

And some Internet rights groups weren't happy with the decision, because the FCC regulations do not fully cover wireless carriers. The FCC argued that this exemption is a recognition of the reality that wireless Internet suffers from overuse due to massive amounts of new customers and therefore carriers must be granted the flexibility to put some limits on use. In theory this exemption means that wireless carriers could block access to apps that interfere with performance. 

The concern among Internet rights groups is that wireless carriers may use this performance rationale to ban competitors' apps. Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., a leading congressional proponent of net neutrality, emphasized this point when he said, "If the F.C.C. passes this weak rule, Verizon will be able to cut off access to the Google Maps app on your phone and force you to use their own mapping program, Verizon Navigator, even if it is not as good. And even if they charge money, when Google Maps is free." 

Given the multiple judicial and legislative battles on the horizon, net neutrality is far from a settled issue. Nevertheless, Obama promised that he would support net neutrality to "to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet." Whether or not the FCC's regulations preserve or restrain the benefits of open competition is a debatable proposition. Yet President Obama, by appointing Julius Genachowski (a net neutrality supporter) and subsequently backing the FCC's decision, has supported net neutrality principles. Thus, we rate this as a Promise Kept. 

Update: This report has been changed to reflect that BitTorrent is a file-sharing protocol, not a website.