President Obama speaks out in support of net neutrality
By Editorial Board | Nov. 11, 2014Months after the Federal Communications Commission revealed its proposal that would limit Internet equality, and almost a year after appointing a former lobbyist for cable companies as FCC Chair, President Obama is finally taking a stand in support of net neutrality. A critical principle behind the Internet as we know it, net neutrality allows every form of information and application to be supported equally by an information network ? that equality is now endangered. The Internet, as it stands now, is ?neutral,? in the sense that any website, whether it?s run by a corporation or an individual, has access to the same content delivery speeds managed by broadband companies. Back in April, the FCC proposed that Internet providers could offer ?fast lanes,? which would allow content to be delivered at faster speeds, for the companies that could afford to pay. Essentially, the Internet would no longer be equal and free ? instead, it would become yet another domain in which money equals power. The reaction to this proposal was swift and severe, with Internet users directing their criticism at the FCC with such fury that their outpouring of comments crashed the FCC?s website. Democrats were equally protective of net neutrality, fighting the bill and contributing to its failure in the House of Representatives. And yet, Obama stayed quiet. It would not be surprising if the president?s reticence resulted from what must have been regret over his choice of FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, whom Obama appointed in November of last year.
