President Obama takes stand on net neutrality

Students watching their favorite shows on Netflix expect videos to appear in seconds — but they might not know whether the streaming service paid up to increase loading speed.

In a show of support for net neutrality Monday, President Barack Obama pushed for an open Internet and urged the Federal Communications Commission to ramp up regulations on Internet service providers.

In a statement, Obama said ISPs and Internet users, regardless of how much they pay for broadband, should have equal access to the same information and services. Online services like Netflix shouldn’t be advantaged because of commercial deals with ISPs such as Comcast, he said.

“We cannot allow Internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace...” he said.

Obama recommended the FCC reclassify broadband companies, like Comcast, as common carriers under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, which regulates large phone companies like Verizon.

But the Telecommunications Industry Association said in a statement it is concerned by the President’s endorsement of classifying the Internet as a Title II utility-like telecom service, subjecting it to stricter federal regulations.

“Such a move would set the industry back decades and threaten the private sector investment that is critically needed to ensure that the network can meet surging demand,” the statement said.

Major Internet service providers including Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner Cable voiced support for an open Internet but said a Title II classification would unnecessarily hurt the industry.

“The FCC has sufficient tools without reclassifying broadband to protect the openness of the Internet,” said Rob Marcus, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable, in a statement.

Proponents of net neutrality and Title II classification remain wary of future action by industry giants.

“Left to their own devices, some of these companies may start charging different rates for access to different websites and services or might cut you off from certain websites altogether,” said Dale Eisman, spokesman for Common Cause, a democracy reform group.

The FCC already tried to impose strict rules on ISPs with the 2010 Open Internet Order, which demanded transparency from providers and prohibited blocking of and discrimination against content. The regulations were later challenged in the District of Columbia’s Court of Appeals and overturned in part in January 2014.

“The FCC is trying to find a middle ground here,” said Victoria Ekstrand, a UNC journalism professor who teaches mass communication law. “They’ve been trying to strike a hybrid model of regulation, and parts of that hybrid model were struck down by the D.C Circuit.”

“We must take the time to get the job done correctly, once and for all,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement.

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