On November 10, US President Barack Obama proposed that broadband internet access should be treated as a utility. This would ensure net neutrality: a situation wherein all traffic over the internet would be treated equally. Specifically, Obama wanted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ban content blocking and paid prioritization of internet content by internet service providers (ISPs). These measures would ensure that small and large companies would continue to be able to compete on a level playing field on the Internet. However, Obama also noted that the FCC is an independent entity: it was up to them to make the correct policy decisions.
Later that day, Texan Senator Ted Cruz tweeted that “‘Net Neutrality’ is the Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of the government”. He later wrote an opinion article for the Washington Post elaborating on his stance, wherein he claimed that “Government-regulated utilities invariably destroy innovation and freedom.” Senator Al Franken claimed on CNN that Ted Cruz did not understand net neutrality at all. Indeed, Ted Cruz did not mention the agendas of ISPs at all, or the impact paid prioritization might have on the Internet. It should be noted that Ted Cruz is not simply a run-of-the-mill Republican: he was one of the senators who led the movement to shut down the US government last year. He also seems poised to run for President in 2016.
The FCC will not issue its final rules on net neutrality until the end of 2014. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler offered an explanation of why: “Every time in this whole discussion any time the commission has moved to do something, one of the big dogs has gone to sue.” Indeed, the recent discussion of this issue was a response to a lawsuit earlier this year. Verizon had sued the FCC for enforcing net neutrality rules, as they could not be legally enforced unless broadband was deemed a utility. Verizon’s actions may come back to bite them, but only time will tell if the retribution will last.
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