Obama wants the internet to remain open and be reclassified as a utility

President Barack Obama has decided that he is in favor of net neutrality and has launched a new website containing a video announcement, explaining his plans to protect the freedom and openness of the internet. According to the video and a letter, the president believes no cable company or access provider should be allowed to limit access to the internet.

Obama is suggesting that the FCC starts to recognize the internet as a basic utility and something that US citizens should have a basic right to. This would mean cable companies would be unable to block sites, throttle speeds or provide network prioritization.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKcjQPVwfDk']

Image source.

“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.”

Obama clearly isn't impressed with cable providers forcing Netflix to pay a fee to allow customers to stream content efficiently, stating that “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”.

You can read the full letter from the President, HERE. 

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see the White House supporting Net Neutrality, hopefully this will put an end to the ridiculous ‘slow lane' tactics US ISPs have been using to squeeze extra money out of customers and businesses like Netflix. 

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