Obama: Regulate broadband Internet like a utility so it 'works for everyone'
President Obama calls for tighter rules from the FCC -- leaving a little bit of wiggle room -- in an effort to preserve a "free and open Internet." ● President Obama urged the US government to adopt tighter regulations on broadband service in an effort to preserve "a free and open Internet." In a statement released Monday, Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the principle of treating all Internet traffic the same way, known in shorthand as Net neutrality. That means treating broadband services like utilities, the president said, so that Internet service providers would be unable "to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas." Obama wades into a contentious debate that has raged over how to treat Internet traffic, which has only heated up as the FCC works to prepare an official guideline. Those rules were expected to be made available later this year, though reports now claim they may be delayed until early 2015. The debate has centered on whether broadband should be placed under Title II regulation under the Telecommunications Act, which already tightly controls phone services.
Miami Herald: Cable stocks fall after Obama backs Net Neutrality
The Guardian: Barack Obama’s support for net neutrality sets precedent for the rest of the world