As many of you guys might have heard yesterday, President Obama made a statement in which he urged the FCC to protect net neutrality and to treat the internet as a utility. Now have speculated that the FCC’s Chairman Tom Wheeler would acquiesce to President Obama’s demands, especially since he was appointed by the President.
However as it turns out, maybe the FCC might not agree with President Obama’s statement. According to a report from the Washington Post, Wheeler reportedly told a group of business executives that he could be thinking about moving in a different direction, one different from what President Obama had initially hoped for.
Wheeler had been quoted as saying, “I am an independent agency.” Instead of just giving in to President Obama’s suggestion, Wheeler instead stated that he was more interested in seeking a neutral ground. “What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn’t affect your business. What I’ve got to figure out is how to split the baby.”
Unsurprisingly there are many who are for net neutrality as this means that everyone will be treated fairly, as opposed to being able to shut out competitors just because you can. An example would be AT&T’s Freeway Program in which companies can “sponsor” your data in order to allow you to watch ads. Some believe that this infringes upon net neutrality as it means that AT&T could be allocating these companies additional bandwidth at the expense of their customers.
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