Obama Calls On The FCC To Keep The Internet 'Free And Open'
By Edward Cardenas
SOUTHFIELD (CBS Detroit) - President Barack Obama released a statement Monday urging the Federal Communications Commission to keep the Internet "free and open" to all users and allow all Internet traffic to be treated equally.
The president's plan for Net neutrality, which basically ensures there are no "gatekeepers" between users and their favorite sites and services, according to the White House, would establish new rules to safeguard competition.
"The internet has become an essential part of everyday communication and everyday life," Obama said in a video posted on the White House website.
Obama compared Internet Service Providers to phone companies, and said the transmission of data over the Internet should be treated the same as a phone call, and added the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, "forbearing users from rate regulation and other provisions less relevant to broadband services."
The FCC is currently working on rules that will govern the Internet and Internet Service Providers (ISP), according to the CNET, with the rules expected to be released in 2015.
Obama's recommendations to the FCC, which is an independent agency, is to create new rules that would protect net neutrality 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."
These rules Obama proposed include:
- ISP should not block access to legal content on websites,
- ISPs should not be able to "throttle," or intentionally slow down some content or speed up Internet service,
- Increased transparency between ISPs and consumers,
- No paid prioritization which would add extra fees on service.
"If carefully designed, these rules should not create any undue burden for ISPs, and can have clear, monitored exceptions for reasonable network management and for specialized services such as dedicated, mission-critical networks serving a hospital," Obama stated. "But combined, these rules mean everything for preserving the Internet's openness."
According to the White House, there were nearly 4 million public comments on Net Neutrality.
"The Internet has been one of the greatest gifts our economy — and our society — has ever known," Obama noted. "There is no higher calling than protecting an open, accessible, and free Internet."
