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President Obama makes policy preference known as Federal Communications Commission considers options regarding net neutrality.
Washington (13 Nov. 2014) — U.S. President Barack Obama has made his strongest statement yet in support of the principle of net neutrality. Obama presented his plan to reclassify the internet as a utility as a means to protect the web's "basic principles of openness and fairness."
Net neutrality—built into the fabric of the Internet
Net neutrality (or network neutrality) is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.
President Obama said that "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. We cannot allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas."
FCC considering its options
In his statement Obama urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement four "common-sense steps" to help protect net neutrality. These steps included increased transparency and the prohibition of paid-priority gatekeeping by internet service providers.
The FCC has proposed new changes that would allow content providers to pay cable companies for "fast lanes" of service. Advocates for net neutrality see the FCC's proposal as restricting access to the open internet.
The decision remains the FCC's, but it now must make it in light of the President's clear statement of preference.
"Simply put: 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."
More information:
National Union on net neutrality
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