Reversing its long-held stance in support of “net neutrality” - the principal which ensures that all people have equal access to all websites -, Google Monday joined Verizon in seeking that the new regulations should allow Internet providers to favor some Web services over others.

In a joint policy statement, Google and Verizon framed their proposal as “a new, enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices.” Both the companies urged Congress to bar phone and cable TV companies from either from slowing down or blocking Internet traffic, or even from charging to prioritize the traffic flowing over their regular broadband lines.

Via their policy statement, Google and Verizon clearly seek to pave the way for broadband providers’ leeway to impose an extra charge for routing traffic from premium services like remote medical monitoring and smart-grid controls over dedicated networks that are separate from the public Internet.

In other words, Google and Verizon also want Congress to let mobile devices — like the Apple iPad and Google's Android handsets – off from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-proposed net neutrality; thereby calling for restrictions on the FCC’s role in regulating the Internet.

With the Google-Verizon policy statement triggering forceful protests from consumer groups which back the network neutrality, Justin Ruben, director of the advocacy group MoveOn.org, said that in case the proposal put forth by the two companies goes through, it would “kill Internet freedom.”