Obama Reaffirms Net Neutrality Pledge
President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to preventing communications giants from dominating the Internet by blocking or degrading broadband service during a major speech on Friday where he unveiled a report summarizing a 60-day assessment of how the government responds to cyber attacks. During a White House event, Obama said: "I remain firmly committed to net neutrality so we can keep the Internet as it should be -- open and free." Craig Aaron, senior program director of Free Press, cheered the mention, saying it made clear Obama considers net neutrality "an essential component of his administration's sweeping Internet agenda." "The president's words send a strong message to Congress and the Federal Communications Commission -- as well as the phone and cable companies -- that now is the time to end the stalemate on this crucial issue and secure the open Internet for future generations," he said.
Earlier this month, FCC Acting Chairman Michael Copps said telecommunications and cable providers of broadband service that block or degrade Internet content for anti-competitive reasons could soon be hit with tough penalties, including fines. Speaking after a speech at a daylong policy summit sponsored by Free Press, he said the strict enforcement would be part of a fifth principle his agency plans to add to net neutrality guidelines governing an accessible Internet. The Democratic commissioner said the plank would be modeled on requirements the commission imposed on the 2006 merger of AT&T and BellSouth. Industry players consider an anti-discriminatory requirement unnecessary and warn it could dissuade future investments in high-speed Internet technology. Read more in CongressDaily here (subscription required).
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