Former Obama Tech Czar: “Fast Lanes” Consistent with Net Neutrality

A Q&A with Aneesh Chopra, President Barack Obama’s former chief technology officer. Chopra says the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed rules on net neutrality are in line with what the White House supported in 2010.

Chopra says that the critique from open Internet advocates misunderstands the problem. The point of the net neutrality rules is not to ban companies from purchasing access to faster, better service, he said; the point of the rules is to ensure that managed service agreements happen above board.

“In my personal opinion, the provision of managed services is not inconsistent with the principles of an open Internet, provided there is a robust level of oversight ensuring that we are not degrading the Internet service offerings for the rest of us,” he said. “You can’t just say, ‘Go forth and build managed services, good luck.’ You’ve got to have a robust review cycle to make sure that they are living up to standards.”

During the Q&A, Chopra touted the need for managed network services for telemedicine. However, he added that rules still need to be in place to the protect the consumer. Overall, he says he fully supports the President’s position on net neutrality and his vision of an open Internet.