The new war over network neutrality

Network neutrality was divisive before. Now it’s explosive -- and more political than ever.

Veteran Federal Communications Commission watchers said they could not remember when a president had ever given such explicit thoughts to the commission -- an independent agency. Officially, President Barack Obama can’t order the FCC to do anything. But the president’s policies tend to be reflected by the agency, and his latest move was made official when the Commerce Department submitted his statement to the commission calling on Title II regulation. It’s clear that the Obama Administration, congressional Democrats and tech activists are trying to get out in front of the conservative, business-led backlash against net neutrality. Republicans also are ready to go to war over the issue. For every Republican decrying Obama’s push, there’s a Democrat emboldened by the President’s statement, saying robust rules are needed to prevent an Internet of haves and have-nots.

Previously scheduled FCC meetings with public interest advocates and technology companies went ahead Nov 10, as did staff-level meetings on the Hill. Chairman Wheeler also met with tech companies and plans to meet with broadband carriers this week, according to sources. “Wheeler, pretty much, committed himself to looking at all the Title II issues,” said Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman, who attended one of the meetings with Chairman Wheeler. “If there was a doubt whether the Obama administration cared that much about this issue or was willing to fight a battle on that issue, even in Congress, that was laid to rest.”

Chairman Wheeler was told Nov 6 that President Obama was going to push the FCC to go further than originally expected. Jeff Zients, director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the president, told the chairman of the broad outlines of Obama’s announcement, according to FCC documents. A White House official described the meeting as “standard operating procedure.”