By Jessica Klein
President Obama’s come out with a statement in support of net neutrality, cementing his administration’s stance on the issue. In the statement, he calls for the FCC to reclassify consumer broadband service under the Telecommunications Act’s Title II, which will prevent the likes of “internet fast lanes.”
“We cannot allow internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas,” Obama said.
Though he noted that the decision is ultimately up to the FCC alone, he called for them to consider such rules as “no blocking,” “no throttling” (when ISPs slow some content providers and grant speedier access to others), “increased transparency,” and “no paid prioritization.”
Of course, major players on both sides of the Title II battle include Netflix and Verizon. The former previously filed with the FCC in support of reclassifying consumer broadband service under Title II. Meanwhile, Verizon responded to the president’s statement, according to Variety, insisting that Title II would mark “a radical reversal of course that would in and of itself threaten great harm to an open internet.”
Watch President Obama’s Statement
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