14 DAY TRIAL // We may have rejoiced a little too early on the Net Neutrality situation as the FCC’s leader stepped out with his feathers all ruffled up, annoyed that the US President told him what to do and how to protect the Open Internet.
The Washington Post reports that it was only a few hours after President Obama called for the FCC to pass the toughest regulation possible for ISPs, pushing the Commission towards using Title II to reclassify providers as common carriers, that Tom Wheeler was telling a group of business execs that he wanted to move in a different direction.
In a conference room at the FCC, Tom Wheeler sat with officials from major web companies such as Google, Yahoo and Etsy. Following Obama’s clear instructions, Wheeler said he still preferred a more nuanced solution. His approach, he believes, would address the concerns of companies that provide Internet access, while also delivering some of what Obama has been demanding.
“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,” Wheeler reportedly said according to people attending the meeting.
Clear guidelines from the White House
The president has demanded clear rules to prevent ISPs from creating “fast lanes,” which would see them syphoning money from Internet companies too, such as Google or Netflix, just so their users could reach their sites and services properly. This would, as critics have pointed out, give ISPs too much control over what services get prioritized.
Next to four million people have told the FCC that this is unacceptable and asked them not to let such a thing happen, the strongest response a campaign of the kind has gotten out of the public. Obama’s demands for the FCC to stop its hybrid plan from becoming a reality echo the pleas of the public.
The demand, however, puts a strain on the relationship between Wheeler and Obama. The US President is the one who appointed Wheeler, a former lobbyist for telcos, to lead the FCC. Wheeler has also been an ally of Obama, raising money for his campaign and being one of his advisors.
“I am an independent agency,” Wheeler kept saying during the meeting, apparently forgetting that there are other people on the Commission.
It should be interesting to see where things go from here and whether we’ll finally see some actual steps being taken to protect Net Neutrality rather than the financial interests of various ISPs.
