The president urged the FCC to adopt strict rules to preserve the open Internet.

In a big win for advocates of so-called net neutrality, President Barack Obama on Monday called on the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify the Internet as a public good, much like water or electricity, and impose stricter regulations on Internet service providers like Verizon and Comcast. Obama urged the FCC to adopt rules that would prevent ISPs from blocking users from websites, slowing data speeds or acting as Internet gatekeepers through paid prioritization, commonly known as Internet “fast lanes.”

“The FCC was chartered to promote competition, innovation, and investment in our networks,” Obama said. “In service of that mission, there is no higher calling than protecting an open, accessible, and free Internet.”

Mike Masnick at Techdirt called Obama’s push “a big step forward.” Many have been frustrated with the president’s apparent wishy-washiness – and outright silence – on the subject, he noted, and Obama's statement is good news for net neutrality advocates who needed “political cover” from on high. The president’s support doesn’t necessarily ensure a free and open Internet, but Masnick said it’s necessary to moving the conversation forward. “It could have and should have come much earlier,” he wrote, “but better late than never.” (Brody, 2014)

Brody, R. (2014, November 10). The president urged the FCC to adopt strict rules to preserve the open Internet. Retrieved from U.S. News and Word Report: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/11/10/obama-calls-on-the-fcc-to-back-internet-net-neutrality-rules-pundits-react

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