POSTED BY Nico Pingaro
President Obama made an effort to secure net neutrality calling on the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure and protect that neutrality. President Obama stated,
“I believe the FCC should create a new set of rules protecting Net neutrality and ensuring that neither the cable company nor the phone company will be able to act as a gatekeeper, restricting what you can do or see online.” He further stated, “The rules I am asking for are simple, common-sense steps that reflect the Internet you and I use every day, and that some ISPs already observe.”
Essentially what the White House is looking to accomplish is a reclassification of consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act. Further, The White House does not want to regulate rates or “imposing provisions less relevant to broadband services.”
Additionally, the White House is advocating for the FCC not to block consumers’ access to content that is legal to view. Also, President Obama is seeking “increased transparency,” this provision would strike a nerve with Netflix because they “suffered slowdowns in delivery of its streaming services over Verizon’s and Comcast’s networks until it agreed to pay higher fees.”
The combatants of this net neutrality policy that the White House is backing, say that “implementing Title II rules would set the industry back decades, and threaten the private sector investment that is critically needed to ensure that the network can meet surging demand.”
The White House’s sudden emphasis of net neutrality comes as a surprise to some, including this blogger. It seems that this issue has not garnered much attention until the White House weighed in Monday, and the question is why? This issue seems relatively important to anyone who uses the Internet, which encapsulates just about everyone, and its impact is not just limited to the “tech geeks.” Although, the White House seems to be asking a lot of the FCC, it seems like the President is really looking after the consumer on this issue. If President Obama’s plan succeeds, it will essentially take the power out of the hands of companies that control how we use the Internet. This also means taking money from certain companies’ pockets like Netflix, which will certainly make President Obama an enemy to corporate entities.
The truly astonishing aspect of this whole issue is the “lack” of influence the White House has on it. This is a very bizarre concept to think about, since there are not many issues in this country where the White House or President Obama lack standing. Many critics of the proposed White House policy are calling it merely “a wish upon a star,” because this policy would never be enacted via executive action, and there is serious doubt that Congress would give the proverbial green light. Therefore, the thought of setting the industry back “decades” is repugnant to many; a volatile market place has contributed to this and has cast a shadow of doubt on this policy to say the least.
Link: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/81329.html
