Benton Foundation Applauds President Obama's Net Neutrality Plan

Earlier today President Barack Obama called on the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act in order to have sound legal footing to protect the Open Internet. He also encouraged the FCC to apply the rules to wireless broadband networks. The following statement may be attributed to Amina Fazlullah, the Benton Foundation's Director of Policy:

“President Obama’s statement on network neutrality is his strongest and clearest yet: the Open Internet is vital to America’s economy and American’s way of life. The Benton Foundation and approximately four million commenters to the Federal Communications Commission strongly agree with the President that the agency must act to ensure cable and telephone companies do not act as gatekeepers, restricting how we can use the Internet. We need rules that will withstand court challenges while banning blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of Internet traffic. As a candidate for the presidency, then-Sen Obama promised to take a back seat to no one when it came to net neutrality. Now it is time for the FCC to protect the Internet with the strongest rules possible and ensure a first-class online experience for all Americans.”