Why President Obama Took the Lead on High-Speed Internet Access Policy

[Commentary] President Barack Obama has always talked the talk on network neutrality and broadband access. But now he’s walking the walk. What happened?

• First, four million-plus comments in the Open Internet rulemaking at the Federal Communications Commission must have caught someone’s attention. Even if the insular world of telecommunications policy wonks still cares only about what the telecommunications executives have to say, there must be people in the Administration who are actually looking up and out.
• Second, the President isn’t running for office again. He can take on Comcast and Verizon with panache if he feels like it. He can suggest a “public option” for high-speed Internet access; in contrast, five years ago, the idea of a public option as part of the Affordable Care Act was a non-starter. Freed of the restraint of raising money for the next race, he can act like a leader rather than a politician and plan for the long-term public narrative of America.
• Third, the media alliances on high-speed Internet access issues have shifted. In 2015, networks and studios may now be a bit more worried about giving control over their destinies to giants such as Comcast -- a competitor as well as the nation’s biggest carrier.

[Susan Crawford is a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.]