The chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission recommended on Wednesday against additional regulation of high-speed Internet traffic.

The chairwoman, Deborah Platt Majoras, said policy makers should proceed cautiously on the issue of "net neutrality," which is the notion that all online traffic should be treated equally by Internet service providers.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Ms. Majoras said that without evidence of "market failure or demonstrated consumer harm, policy makers should be particularly hesitant to enact new regulation in this area."

In separate remarks prepared for delivery to a lawyers' group Wednesday, Ms. Majoras said the agency was unaware of any market failure or consumer harm in the high-speed Internet market, according to a written copy of her speech.

Ms. Majoras's comments provide support for telecommunications companies like AT & T and Comcast, which oppose so-called net neutrality regulation. They would like the option of charging more for transmitting certain content, like live video, faster or more reliably than other data.

Supporters of net neutrality rules, including consumer groups and content providers like Google, are concerned that Internet access providers could slow or block content in the absence of such rules, particularly as Internet providers offer their own services.

Ms. Majoras also said the agency's report concluded that such competition concerns could be addressed by antitrust laws.

The Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department have jurisdiction over high-speed Internet access, while Congress has considered legislation that would mandate network neutrality.

The report grew out of a workshop the agency held in February on Internet access and net neutrality issues.

Source: www.nytimes.com