Barack Obama reiterates stand in favour of net neutrality

President Barack Obama waded into the debate over net neutrality on Thursday, saying he is committed to keeping the internet open and free.

On net neutrality, I made a commitment very early on that I am unequivocally committed to net neutrality, Obama said during an appearance in Santa Monica, Calif.

I think it is what has unleashed the power of the internet and we dont want to lose that or clog up the pipes.

• The net neutrality battle for equal access vs. pay-for-premium internet
• Net neutrality plan would lead to two-speed internet: Don Pittis

He said he is opposed to the idea that some companies, like Netflix or Google, could pay extra to have faster or better access to customers.

That is what the Federal Communications Commission proposed earlier this year. After learning that Netflix was already paying for priority access to broadband, it proposed that internet service providers should maintain a baseline of service, but some companies might be able to pay for preferential service.

The proposal has been roundly criticized as creating a two-tier internet by proponents of net neutrality. It also gives ISPs an incentive to throttle users such as Netflix who hog bandwidth.

Campaign promise

Obama quoted his own 2008 campaign promise that I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality.

The president said the FCC and its head Tom Wheeler is fully aware of his position opposing any compromise on net neutrality.

I cantnow that [Wheelers] there, I cant just call him up and tell him exactly what to do, said Obama, who emphasized the federal regulator operates independently.

But what Ive been clear about, what the White House has been clear about, is that we expect that whatever final rules to emerge, to make sure that were not creating two or three or four tiers of internet. That ends up being a big priority of mine.