Jesse Jackson is lobbying the FCC against aggressive network neutrality rules

You don't often find a two-time presidential candidate and civil rights leader wading into the sticky business of Internet policy. But the Rev Jesse Jackson visited the Federal Communications Commission to discuss the future of the Internet.

Meeting with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Rev Jackson urged the FCC to act on network neutrality, the idea that Internet providers should not be permitted to speed up or slow down certain kinds of Web traffic over others, especially in exchange for money. What Rev Jackson asked for, though, probably won't sit well with some of net neutrality's most outspoken proponents, including President Barack Obama. Rev Jackson "was unequivocal in voicing his opposition to Title II because of its effects on investment in broadband and because of the ultimate impact on minority communities and job creation," said TechFreedom’s Berin Szoka, another participant in the meeting with Chairman Wheeler who has also argued for Section 706. Civil rights and diversity organizations are largely united in their support for Section 706, Jackson said. He added that no matter which legal approach the FCC chooses, the agency's net neutrality rules should not end up marginalizing minorities and the poor. "We got a lot of poor folks who don't have broadband," said Jackson. "If you create something where, for the poor, the lane is slower and the cost is more, you can't survive."