The sides have been chosen, the line has been drawn, the battle of net neutrality begins.
President Obama and Congress, set to battle over net neutrality.
Republican leaders criticized Obama’s request that the Federal Communications Commission impose 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.”
Obama has stated and stands behind the idea that “Internet providers should be prohibited from allowing major servers like Netflix and Amazon to pay for faster transmissions.” Obama also called for an end to the blocking or throttling of certain websites and services.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will become Senate majority leader in January, said Obama’s plan amounts to “heavy-handed regulation that will stifle innovation and concentrate more power in the hands of Washington bureaucrats … The Commission would be wise to reject it.”
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called net neutrality “a textbook example of the kind of Washington regulations that destroy innovation and entrepreneurship. Federal bureaucrats should not be in the business of regulating the Internet — not now, not ever.”
In his statement, Obama said “the FCC was chartered to promote competition, innovation, and investment in our networks. In service of that mission, there is no higher calling than protecting an open, accessible, and free Internet.”
(Image Source: iCLIPART)
