Following President Obama’s support for net neutrality, suggesting that the FCC invoke Title II legislation to protect broadband as a utility, Tom Wheeler, the Chairman of the FCC, has issued a defiant response: “I am an independent agency.”
Obama proposed that Title II of the 1934 Communications Act be applied to the internet in order to protect services from anti-consumer measures. As part of the regulation, ISPs would be monitored by independent ombudsmen to ensure their fair practice. The proposal has met opposition from ISPs – Verizon and AT&T have already make threats of legal action if Title II is implemented – and Republicans, citing the potential restriction of trade as damaging to the free market. But the FCC’s reply has undermined Obama’s proposition before it could gain traction.
The White House issued a brief statement, agreeing, “ultimately this decision is theirs alone.”
Source: electronista
