Business
Obama moves to back protection of net neutrality
U.S. President Barack Obama voiced support on Monday for “free and open Internet” rules to protect against putting online services that do not pay extra fees into a “slow lane”.
Obama endorsed an effort to reclassify the Internet as a public utility to give regulators more authority to enforce “net neutrality”, the principle barring Internet service firms from playing favorites or opening up “fast lanes” for services that pay fees for better access.
In a statement, Obama said he wants the regulator – the independent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality”.
Obama’s comment comes amid heated debate among online industry sectors as the FCC seeks to draft new rules to replace those struck down this year by a US appeals court, which said the agency lacked authority to regulate Internet service firms as it does telephone carriers.
“‘Net neutrality’ has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation – but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted,” Obama said in a statement. “We cannot allow Internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas.”
Obama said that while the FCC is an independent agency, he wants the regulatory body to maintain key principles of net neutrality. He said the rules should ensure “no block” of any legal content, to ensure that an Internet service provider does not block one service such as Netflix to promote a rival one.
Another key principle endorsed by Obama would prohibit “paid prioritization” that would allow one service to get into a faster lane by paying extra.
