Obama Encourages The FCC To Treat The Internet As A Utility

It has been argued for some time that for our Internet to be truly safe from the corruption of commercial entities, it needs to be treated as a utility – much like our water and power is. As it is today, the Federal Communications Commission treats Internet access as an information service, which means its control over it is limited. Utilities, on the other hand, bode well with strict ruling that works in the favor of consumers, so it’s obvious why many believe the Internet should be considered one.

Today, that group has gained a notable member: President Obama. In a letter posted today, the President encourages the FCC to not only treat the Internet as a utility, but also create a set of clear rules that net neutrality proponents can all agree with. As an independent agency, the FCC is under no requirement to treat Obama’s recommendations as more important than anyone else’s, but it goes without saying that it’s going to hear this message loud and clear.

Obama states, “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.”

The four rules are: A) No blocking: An ISP cannot block legal content / websites / information; B) No throttling: An ISP cannot intentionally throttle a connection based on its own preferences; C) Increased transparency: Net neutrality rules need to apply to interconnects; and D) No paid prioritization: ISPs are not allowed to accept payment in exchange for being slotted into a fast lane.

You can read the entire letter at the official White House website, and take advantage of the share links there if you want this to be as in the FCC’s face as possible.

Again, Obama has little overall power over the FCC, but I’d be hard-pressed to believe that his message won’t have more of an impact than a mass of random Internet voices. FCC chair Tom Wheeler has famously been adamant to make important changes happen, so all we can do is hope that Obama’s clear-cut message becomes the straw that broke the camel’s back.