Bosses of some of the internet’s best-known websites have called for the Federal Communications Commission to stick to its plans to enforce net neutrality principles. It follows lobbying by 72 Democrat congressmen asking the FCC to go easy on the policy...

In one of those curious situations that political language sometime throws up, the new letter supporting net neutrality (PDF, via WSJ) also cites competition as key. Whereas the politicians are referring to competition between internet carriers, this letter says net neutrality is vital to ensure fair competition between websites, particularly online businesses. It says that in an open Internet, “consumers make the ultimate choices about which products succeed and which fail.”

The letter is signed by senior figures from Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Google, Skype, Mozilla, YouTube and Twitter among others. It’s also signed by chiefs of some offline companies including Tivo and Sony.

The commission, led by Julius Genachowski (pictured), is understood to have prepared proposed rules for enforcing net neutrality, though they won’t be unveiled until they are discussed at an open meeting on Thursday. The commissioners will vote on whether to adopt the proposals as FCC policy; a yes vote would not turn them into rules, but rather start the rulemaking process.

In an unusual move, the commission is inviting public feedback about the issue through its blog, both in advance of the vote and during any rulemaking process. However, the comments before the vote “will not intrude on the Commission’s decision making.” Traditionally such feedback would be restricted for fear of being seen as inappropriate lobbying in the run-up to a vote.

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