Obama’s net neutrality stance adds to debate over Internet fairness

Global Business

FILE – In this May 1, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama shakes hands with then nominee for Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Obama touched off an angry debate Monday, Nov. 10, 2014, over government regulation of Internet service, coming down on the side of consumer activists who fear slower download speeds and higher costs but angering Republicans and the nation’s cable giants who say the plan would kill jobs. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

U.S. president Barack Obama has entered the net neutrality debate that pits service providers against consumers and companies like Amazon and Google. The president wants to have high-speed Internet service providers governed by the same U.S. regulations imposed on telephone companies 80 years ago.

Depending on who you listen to, the rules could unleash future innovation and create jobs, or stifle innovation and kill jobs. The divisive and often confusing debate has intensified now that Obama has entered the fray.

Obama’s stance is meant to protect “net neutrality,” the concept that everyone with an Internet connection should have equal access to all legal content online. The idea served as one of the Internet’s building blocks, but its fate has been in limbo since January, when a court ruling invalidated Federal Communications Commission guidelines designed to treat all online traffic equally.

CCTV America interviewed Evan Engstrom, Policy Director at The Engine Research Foundation, about net neutrality and the impact of the regulation.

Story compiled with the information from CCTV America and AP.