Comcast Corp. promised yesterday that it would not discriminate against specific Internet traffic. With more than 24 million subscribers, the company is the largest cable TV and Internet provider in the U.S. The announcement comes after criticism received by the company last year on the alleged blocking of a software program utilized for online video watching.

Comcast declared that it would change the presently used approach on online traffic management. Thus, instead of interfering with the various specific online applications, it will slow down Internet speeds of its most important users when traffic reaches a climax. This move however may bring about a new issue with federal regulators, namely: on what grounds exactly can Internet providers choose to differently interfere with the quality of their clients’ connection?

“In the event of congestion, the half percent of people who are over utilizing an excessive amount of capacity will be slowed down subtly until capacity is restored,” Tony G. Werner, the chief technology officer for Comcast, declared, according to the New York Times. “For the other 99.5 percent, their performance will be maintained exactly as they expect it,” he then added.

The new strategy was part of a larger statement which also informed the public on the recent collaboration between Comcast and BitTorrent. The idea behind this contract is to help media companies deliver their files, including large files such as movies, over the Internet with the use of BitTorrent technology.