As we noted last week, Iranian's use of deep packet inspection hardware to identify and censor Internet content has put the already-controversial technology back into the spotlight. The network sniffing gear has many uses, though its implementation over the last few years in behavioral advertising, P2P throttling, and ISP javascript banner injection has made it a bit of a bogeyman.

A collection of consumer advocacy groups and lobbying outfits are now calling for a Congressional hearing on the issue. Operating under the "Open Internet Coalition" banner, the group consists of consumer advocacy groups like Free Press, but also of organizations like the New America Foundation (which has Google's Larry Page as a President and co-founder) the Writer's Guild and the ACLU. In a letter (pdf) to Congress, the group laments the use of the technology and urges Uncle Sam to monitor its abuses:The coalition of consumer groups and content-industry organizations is using the current political climate to get network neutrality legislation before the eyes of DC lawmakers, though their worries differ. Google doesn't want ISPs dictating which content gets preferential treatment, while outfits like the ACLU are more concerned with consumers retaining control over their personal browsing habits.