Time for FCC to clean up its net neutrality mess

[Commentary] When it comes to promoting "net neutrality," the principle that all traffic on the Internet should essentially be treated equally, the Federal Communications Commission has created a muddled mess.

The FCC recommended that broadband providers be allowed to create paid fast lanes on the Internet and that providers continue to be lightly regulated. But the proposal throws open the possibility of doing the exact opposite. It seeks comment from the public on whether the agency ought instead to ban all such fast lanes. And contrary to the plan of Chairman Tom Wheeler, it opens the possibility of reclassifying Internet providers as "common carriers," which would subject the companies to far more regulatory scrutiny. It's as if the agency is of two minds about the direction forward -- that, or it doesn't have the courage to fully embrace its own recommendations. That's troubling, because it leaves the future of net neutrality and the Internet itself in question.