President
Obama’s Statement on Net Neutrality
An open Internet is essential to
the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life. By lowering the
cost of launching a new idea, igniting new political movements, and bringing
communities closer together, it has been one of the most significant
democratizing influences the world has ever known.
“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.
When I was a candidate for this
office, I made clear my commitment to a free and open Internet, and my
commitment remains as strong as ever. Four years ago, the FCC tried to
implement rules that would protect net neutrality with little to no impact on
the telecommunications companies that make important investments in our
economy. After the rules were challenged, the court reviewing the rules agreed
with the FCC that net neutrality was essential for preserving an environment
that encourages new investment in the network, new online services and content,
and everything else that makes up the Internet as we now know it.
Unfortunately, the court ultimately struck down the rules – not because it
disagreed with the need to protect net neutrality, but because it believed the
FCC had taken the wrong legal approach.
The FCC is an independent agency,
and ultimately this decision is theirs alone. I believe the FCC should create a
new set of rules protecting net neutrality and ensuring that neither the cable
company nor the phone company will be able to act as a gatekeeper, restricting
what you can do or see online. The rules I am asking for are simple,
common-sense steps that reflect the Internet you and I use every day, and that
some ISPs already observe. These bright-line rules include:
No blocking. If a consumer
requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP
should not be permitted to block it. That way, every player – not just those
commercially affiliated with an ISP – gets a fair shot at your business.
No throttling. Nor should ISPs be
able to intentionally slow down some content or speed up others – through a
process often called “throttling” – based on the type of service or your ISP’s
preferences.
Increased transparency. The
connection between consumers and ISPs – the so-called “last mile” – is not the
only place some sites might get special treatment. So, I am also asking the FCC
to make full use of the transparency authorities the court recently upheld, and
if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between
the ISP and the rest of the Internet.
No paid prioritization. Simply
put: 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. So, as I have before, I am asking for an explicit ban on
paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect.
If carefully designed, these
rules should not create any undue burden for ISPs, and can have clear,
monitored exceptions for reasonable network management and for specialized
services such as dedicated, mission-critical networks serving a hospital. But
combined, these rules mean everything for preserving the Internet’s openness.
The rules also have to reflect
the way people use the Internet today, which increasingly means on a mobile
device. I believe the FCC should make these rules fully applicable to mobile
broadband as well, while recognizing the special challenges that come with
managing wireless networks.
To be current, these rules must
also build on the lessons of the past. For almost a century, our law has
recognized that companies who connect you to the world have special obligations
not to exploit the monopoly they enjoy over access in and out of your home or
business. That is why a phone call from a customer of one phone company can
reliably reach a customer of a different one, and why you will not be penalized
solely for calling someone who is using another provider. It is common sense
that the same philosophy should guide any service that is based on the
transmission of information – whether a phone call, or a packet of data.
So the time has come for the FCC
to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance and must carry
the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do. To do that, I
believe the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of
the Telecommunications Act – while at the same time forbearing from rate
regulation and other provisions less relevant to broadband services. This is a
basic acknowledgment of the services ISPs provide to American homes and
businesses, and the straightforward obligations necessary to ensure the network
works for everyone – not just one or two companies.
Investment in wired and wireless
networks has supported jobs and made America the center of a vibrant ecosystem
of digital devices, apps, and platforms that fuel growth and expand
opportunity. Importantly, network investment remained strong under the previous
net neutrality regime, before it was struck down by the court; in fact, the
court agreed that protecting net neutrality helps foster more investment and
innovation. If the FCC appropriately forbears from the Title II regulations
that are not needed to implement the principles above – principles that most
ISPs have followed for years – it will help ensure new rules are consistent
with incentives for further investment in the infrastructure of the Internet.
The Internet has been one of the
greatest gifts our economy – and our society – has ever known. The FCC was
chartered to promote competition, innovation, and investment in our networks.
In service of that mission, there is no higher calling than protecting an open,
accessible, and free Internet. I thank the Commissioners for having served this
cause with distinction and integrity, and I respectfully ask them to adopt the
policies I have outlined here, to preserve this technology’s promise for today,
and future generations to come. |
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