Google, MoveOn.org and other comrades in regulation have been calling for more government control of Internet service for several years now. The good news is they've just suffered a setback. An agreement worked out recently between cable giant Comcast and BitTorrent, the creator of a popular file-sharing program, offers a private-sector alternative to "net neutrality" industrial policy.

Comcast gained villain status last year when the company tried to ease congestion on its network by slowing the transmission of high-bandwidth...