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Obama’s Net Neutrality Plan
Obama’s Net Neutrality Plan
President Obama outlines his suggestions to maintain an open internet and urges the Federal Communications Commission to implement “the strongest possible rules†to protect it.
Video by WhiteHouse.gov on Publish Date November 10, 2014. Photo by WhiteHouse.gov.
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday put the full weight of his administration behind an open and free Internet, calling for a strict policy of so-called net neutrality and formally opposing deals in which content providers like Netflix would pay huge sums to broadband companies for faster access to their customers.
The president’s proposal is consistent with his longstanding support for rules that seek to prevent cable and telephone companies from providing special access to some content providers. But the statement posted online Monday, as Mr. Obama traveled to Asia, is the most direct effort by the president to influence the debate about the Internet’s future.
In the statement, and a video on the White House website, Mr. Obama urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt the strictest set of neutrality rules possible and to treat consumer broadband service as a public utility, similar to telephone or power companies.
“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,†Mr. Obama wrote in the statement.
The F.C.C. is an independent agency not subject to Mr. Obama’s direct authority. But the president is adding his voice to the 3.7 million people who submitted comments to the agency, most on behalf of a free and open Internet in which broadband companies could not pick which content would arrive quickly and which would be slowed down.
Mr. Obama said that new rules under consideration by the F.C.C. should adhere to several key principles: No website or service should be blocked by an Internet service provider; no content should be purposefully slowed down or sped up; there should be more transparency about where traffic is routed; and no paid deals should be made to provide a speed advantage to some providers over others in delivering content.
That last principle would directly affect some of the megadeals already being made by companies like Netflix, whose video streaming service has been gobbling up bandwidth and slowing down the Internet as millions of people attempt to watch movies and television shows through their computers and tablets.
Earlier this year, Netflix struck a deal with Comcast under which it pays Comcast for a direct connection into its broadband network so subscribers experience less delay in viewing Netflix’s streaming video.
Mr. Obama said he opposes such deals and urged the commission to adopt rules that would prevent them.
“Simply put: No service should be stuck in a ‘slow lane' because it does not pay a fee,†Mr. Obama wrote. “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.â€
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How Net Neutrality Works
How Net Neutrality Works
The future of protecting an open Internet has been the subject of fierce debate, and potential changes to the rules by the Federal Communications Commission could impact your online experience.
Video by Natalia V. Osipova and Carrie Halperin on Publish Date May 15, 2014.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1wazAZo
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