Free Republic

The powers behind the FCC’s muscling of the Internet Today’s vote by a bitterly divided Federal Communications Commission that the Internet should be regulated as a public utility is the culmination of a decade-long battle by the Left. Using money from George Soros and liberal foundations that totaled at least $196 million, radical activists finally succeeded in ramming through “net neutrality,” or the idea that all data should be transmitted equally over the Internet. The final push involved unprecedented political pressure exerted by the Obama White House on FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, head of an ostensibly independent regulatory body. “Net...

"Thanks Redditors! Wish I could upvote every one of you for helping to keep the internet open and free." —Obama While you were all engrossed by CPAC and rampant llamas, the Federal Communications Commission today voted in favor of new net neutrality regulations that, if fully implemented, would mean internet service providers could not discriminate in which sites and services customers would get access to. Websites like Reddit were at the forefront of net neutrality advocacy, and President Obama even voiced support of it months ago. So today, the president actually thanked Reddit directly in this hand-written note:

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission plans to vote on new net neutrality rules during its February meeting. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will bring a proposal to a vote during the commission’s Feb. 26 meeting, FCC spokeswoman Kim Hart said Friday, following a report in the Washington Post. It’s unclear, however, what form those rules will take. Hart declined to comment further on the net neutrality order Wheeler plans to circulate in February. Many telecom policy experts had expected the FCC to take action on net neutrality early this year after a year-long fight over the issue. Nearly a year ago,...

Federal regulators looking to place restrictions on Internet providers will introduce and vote on new proposed net neutrality rules in February, Federal Communications Commission officials said Friday.