The FCC wants you to help it shame companies into net neutrality.

It's notoriously difficult to know how an ISP might be managing, throttling, or degrading Internet traffic. Comcast's P2P-limiting technology was only caught through a fluke, and it's certainly possible that many ISPs have been up to similar shenanigans for years without 'fessing up. Net neutrality rules passed in December are meant to address this, but the strictest ones only apply to wired networks and may well be overturned by judges or Congress in the next year or two. So what's a toothless regulator to do?

In the FCC's case, it has chosen to mobilize the masses. Today it announced the Open Internet Challenge, which asks "researchers and software developers to engage in research and create apps that help consumers foster, measure, and protect Internet openness." The challenge specifically suggests creating apps that can monitor whether ISPs are "interfering with DNS responses, application packet headers, or content."

"This challenge is about using the open Internet to protect the open Internet,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “Our goal is to foster user-developed applications that shine light on any practice that might be inconsistent with the free and open Internet. Empowering consumers with information about their own connections will promote a vibrant, innovative, world-leading broadband ecosystem."

Even if his transparency rules get tossed by the courts, Genachowski hopes to empower Internet users to keep their ISPs honest. There's no big cash prize at stake, but winners will get a "Chairman's reception" at the FCC and will be featured on the FCC website. They'll also get a free trip to DC.

Full rules are available at challenge.gov.