A rapidly growing number of Netflix, Hulu and HBO Go users are accusing Comcast of violating net neutrality, an issue that affects all internet users.

The specific issues cited (made popular by Netflix CEO Reed Hasting’s public Facebook updates) centers around Comcast’s just-launched Xbox 360 Xfinity app.

Data usage of Comcast customers viewing TV shows or other content via the Xfinity app is not counted against the provider’s ISP data cap. However, data usage from the same programs viewed through Hulu, HBO Go or Netflix is deducted from a subscriber’s monthly allotment.

Within 15 minutes of Hasting posting- we began receiving emails asking us to start a petition against Comcast. You can view the resulting petition at www.publikdemand.com.

PublikDemand is looking further into the issue and will post an update tomorrow. In the meantime you may want to check out GigaOm writer Stacey Higginbotham’s assessment of the impact of net neutrality. Read here.

In short, the Net Neutrality rules:

• Protect the current state of the Internet;
• Are ambiguous, and hence less protective of the mobile future for the web;
• Show that the FCC punted on pretty much every challenging issue that lay before it, from requiring open network provisions on wireless networks to allowing managed servicesprovided by ISPs.
  The new FCC order enshrines three principles as the framework for implementing network neutrality:
  
• Transparency for fixed and mobile broadband providers.
• No blocking for fixed broadband providers in general, while mobile broadband providers can’t block competitive services, although blocking apps is fine.
• No unreasonable discrimination by fixed broadband providers while mobile broadband providers have to justify their discrimination.

Stay tuned for more updates and follow the demand on www.publikdemand.com