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Obama wants the internet to remain open and be reclassified as a utility

President Barack Obama has decided that he is in favor of net neutrality and has launched a new website containing a video announcement, explaining his plans to protect the freedom and openness of the internet. According to the video and a letter, the president believes no cable company or access provider should be allowed to limit access to the internet.

Obama is suggesting that the FCC starts to recognize the internet as a basic utility and something that US citizens should have a basic right to. This would mean cable companies would be unable to block sites, throttle speeds or provide network prioritization. [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKcjQPVwfDk']

OBAMA-AP PHOTO_8
Image source.

“Net neutrality has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.”

Obama clearly isn't impressed with cable providers forcing Netflix to pay a fee to allow customers to stream content efficiently, stating that “No service should be stuck in a “slow lane” because it does not pay a fee. That kind of gatekeeping would undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth”.

You can read the full letter from the President, HERE. 

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see the White House supporting Net Neutrality, hopefully this will put an end to the ridiculous ‘slow lane' tactics US ISPs have been using to squeeze extra money out of customers and businesses like Netflix. 

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11 comments

  1. There are places that oh “too big Government” doesn’t belong and one of those places is the World Wide Web. Spying, dictating what we can and cannot view, expensive service etc etc.

    Allowing the Government to regulate the internet is a very bad idea. They cannot even get Healthcare.Gov to work right!

  2. Get the fuck outta here you comcast shill. The government isn’t regulating anything here; the FCC is an independent agency of the US Gov, not to mention what Obama is proposing is a reclassification of what the internet is so that providers can’t fuck consumers over like they’ve been doing for the past decade and half.

  3. RK, here what they are trying to do is de-regulate the internet. Doesn’t that come across as a good thing?

  4. If you think that there’s an independent agency that’s part of the GOVERNMENT there’s no point talking to you. So who’s the shill? The guy for free market or the guy promoting more big Government B.S.? And it’s coming from Obama? That’s laughable! Everything he touches turns to stone!

    De-regulate? So what exactly does the Government de-regulate? That’s just plain asinine.

  5. Doing nothing has consequences. Americans seem uniquely unable to grasp this. The government not intervening in certain situations is still a choice, and still an action, and it has consequences. In this case, intervention is necessary to prevent the removal of the open internet. If they chose not to intervene it would result in a significantly less open internet.

  6. I do think the net should be free and unhindered, only for governments to stop websites which are illegal (ie silkroad)
    The net is the one true place where, people have access to whatever they want and whatever they want to say, without being hindered by political correctness, religious and social stigmas. The only medium where people are free and equals the playing field for all users. It does not care for age, religion, handicap or anything else.

  7. Like China? Dictating what it’s citizens can play, watch and buy? No thanks.

    As soon as the Gov. gets its hands on Internet control is when the real abuses happen. CENSORSHIP… in the end, the Gov. reaps the profits and not the big bad Cable companies. and they’ll paint it with flowers, rainbows and pixie dust. They’ll use all kinds of warm and fuzzy adjectives and the gullible utopians will lap it up…

  8. Wow, the government must have basically come into your house and violated you to think this isn’t a good thing.
    How is this video in any way describing what you think is dictating what we can do on the internet?
    Obama is telling the FCC to get it’s shit together and implement stronger regulations against ISPs who are trying to destabilise net neutrality. Surely you can’t be so retarded that you think this is a good thing? Or do you want Time Warner to prevent you going on your porn sites or torrenting your precious movies?

    You realise it IS the ISPs that allow you access to the internet, right? Not the government? If Obama or the government doesn’t step in, you’ll be crying yourself to sleep at night because you can’t do shit on the internet anymore.

  9. My god it seems you know nothing about this topic! Are you simply hating this because it’s Obama? Net Neutrality existed before he even took office. ISP’s are trying to remove it so they can double dip their profits by charging both the customer AND the websites for decent access. In that case no matter how much you pay you might get a slow connection because the website cannot afford the pay on their side. In the end this only makes the ISP’s richer while killing startup websites from getting a chance.

  10. You Obamanites always have some inequality to whine about to justify MORE laws and regulations. This “Obamacare for the internet” will only slow down the internet. Much like a busy intersection in NYC without street signals.

    Cable companies will really make tons of money then because the suckers will still fork over their cash. No new nodes, no new lines and let the pipeline fill as they watch all of the standardized consumers choke bandwidth.

    Want to stifle innovation? Want to slow something down? Let the Government get involved and “standardize”!

    No I’m absolutely against Government intervention. I think people need to use their pocket book. Unlike you hypocrites that’s what I do. If I don’t like a service I don’t buy it and search elsewhere for the product I want.

    The drones fork over their cash then have the audacity to bitch about the service. You people ARE the problem!

    And to point something out, you people need to get your story straight. One is saying “de-regulate and the other is saying “regulate”.

    Joe – “what they are trying to do is de-regulate the internet”

    Flag – “Obama is telling the FCC to get it’s shit together and implement stronger regulations “.

    So which is it?

    … but go ahead and prove your how peanut-brained you are by using words like “retarded”, “stupid”, etc, ad-nauseam.

  11. You do realise we were talking about the same thing and wording it differently?

    De-regulate == regulations. The FCC implementing regulations to prevent the ISPs from constricting the networks is what’s trying to be achieved here. In other words, they are trying to keep the internet de-regulated by implementing rules ON THE ISPS. NOT ON THE END USER.

    You go ahead and not believe in this – if this doesn’t go ahead, pretty soon you’ll be looking around in a fucking dust bowl for the product you want to buy, because all the ISPs (if the internet isn’t kept deregulated) will just be choking the systems, constricting networks etc. and you won’t have a fucking chance of finding something that works like it used to.
    You think this “Obamacare for the internet” will slow down the networks as much the ISPs THEMSELVES constricting the networks?
    I hope you realise ad-nauseam means the conversation has gone on for long enough that it has produced nausea. Which I hope it has in you.
    I was actually using the ad-hominem fallacy, if you want to get it right, and I’ll continue to use it because you frankly don’t make any sense.

    Who controls your internet access?
    Your Internet Service Provider.

    Who has the power to stop your ISP and others from constricting your network and eliminating net-neutrality?
    The FCC.

    Also, for further clarification, I’m from Australia, where the internet is comparatively shit-house. Coming from that standpoint, I really do not see your fucking problem with the government trying to prevent your internet from become a choked up piece of shit.