During a question-and-answer session at Cross Campus in Santa Monica last week, US President Barack Obama
reaffirmed his stance on net neutrality, which he has held since first running for office. Holding that the concept of an open Internet is important to innovation, the President said that he expects that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will not end up creating a tiered Internet.
"On net neutrality, I made a commitment very early on that I am unequivocally committed to net neutrality," said Obama. "I think that it's what has unleashed the power of the Internet, and we don't want to lose that or clog up the pipes."
Obama was questioned by a small business owner about his support for net neutrality, bringing up the possibility that a change could have an impact on future innovations. While he recognized that the FCC is an independent agency, he stressed that he is against paid prioritization and unequal access.
"There are a lot of aspects to net neutrality. I know one of things that people are most concerned about is paid prioritization, the notion that somehow some folks can pay a little more money and get better service, more exclusive access to customers through the Internet. That's something I'm opposed [to]," said Obama. "I was opposed to it when I ran. I continue to be opposed to it now."
Stretching it further, the President said that the FCC knows what his stance is on any changes to how the US approaches net neutrality. The President, along with the White House administration, expects that no tiered system that would put people at a disadvantage to those that would pay under paid prioritization is acceptable. However, even though he placed the current FCC chairman in the position, it isn't as simple as telling Wheeler not to implement a plan he is opposed to.
"My appointee, Tom Wheeler, knows my position. I can't -- now he's there -- call him up and tell him exactly what to do," said Obama. "But what I've been clear about, what the White House has been clear about is, is we expect whatever final rules that emerge to make sure that were not creating two or three or four tiers of Internet. That ends up being a big priority of mine."
The President didn't spell out any changes or suggestions that the FCC and Wheeler should take, such as Title II reclassification. But with the statement that he is against any tiered system or uneven playing field for users, it seems like there is little else that the FCC could do. Reclassifying broadband as a utility under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 would give the FCC the power to regulate the Internet in the best interest of US citizens. It's possible that the agency could take hybrid approach that would use Title II along with Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act as
suggested by Representative Henry Waxman.
Obama also talked about intellectual property and copyright issues, something that he says is a "trickier issue." He said that intellectual property is something the administration is working on, but it is a hard issue to work with since the system can also stifle creativity. False patent claims, selective enforcement by holders and international piracy make intellectual property harder to deal with, but progress is being made.
"You want to have sufficient IP, whether patents or copyrights, that you are continually encouraging and rewarding innovation and creativity," said Obama. "But you don't want those structures so tight in terms of protecting that intellectual property that [it] ends up being actually an inhibitor to people getting good information, folks coming up with new uses for exiting information."
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