Business
Obama moves to back protection of net neutrality
“No service should be stuck in a ‘slow lane’ because it does not pay a fee,” Obama said. “That kind of gatekeeping would undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth. So, as I have before, I am asking for an explicit ban on paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect.”
Obama said he wants the rules to bar any “throttling” or slowing of content at the discretion of the service provider. He also said he wants the same rules to apply to mobile broadband, which was not covered in the earlier regulations. To accomplish this, Obama said the rules should reclassify consumer broadband service as a public utility – a move that has been fiercely opposed by the companies that would be affected.
Obama’s statement places him squarely in the camp of many consumer activists and online services and against industry sectors involved in Internet delivery.
The FCC is redrafting its rules after the court decision struck down its regulations in a case brought by US broadband giant Verizon. Verizon and its allies have argued that the FCC lacks authority to interfere with their business, and that Congress never decided these companies were regulated utilities or “common carriers”.
The consumer group Common Cause said the plan would “preserve the innovative capacity of the Internet and ensure that its transformative power extends to all consumers – not just those who can afford a fast lane”.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler welcomed Obama’s statement but offered no timetable for the new rules. “Like the president, I believe that the Internet must remain an open platform for free expression, innovation, and economic growth. We both oppose Internet fast lanes,” Wheeler said in a statement. But he noted that reclassification poses “substantive legal questions”, and that the agency needs time “to ensure that whatever approach is taken, it can withstand any legal challenges it may face”.
Source: AFP
