FCC chief plans to recommend sanctions against Comcast

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin will recommend sanctions against cable company Comcast for allegedly blocking access to file-sharing traffic, the Associated Press has reported.

"The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers' access to the Internet," the AP quoted Martin saying. "We found that Comcast's actions in this instance violated our principles."

The AP said Martin would circulate the order to his fellow commissioners on Friday, who will vote on the measure at an open meeting on August 1.

Comcast has been sharply criticized in recent months for slowing down peer-to-peer traffic on its network. The cable company said that traffic was using too much bandwidth, and caused degradation across the rest of its customers.

The FCC held hearings on the topic in February.

Martin's order would require Comcast to cease blocking the traffic, and give the Commission and consumers details about the practice, as well as detailed information on how it planned to manage its network in the future, the AP said.