The President Might Have Just Saved the Internet

[Commentary] President Barack Obama weighed in at a crucial moment in the fight for real Net Neutrality.

For months and months, his appointee to head the Federal Communications Commission has put forward convoluted, loophole-ridden proposals to avoid reclassifying broadband under Title II. Both FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's original slow-lane-creating "706" proposal and the baffling "hybrid" currently under consideration would endanger the open Internet as we know it. The FCC is an independent agency, but the President appointed its commissioners who pay attention to what he says. His Nov 10 statement sends a clear message to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: Stop messing around and get on the surest path to protecting the open Internet. Why is the Administration suddenly so vocal? There's only one answer: unprecedented public pressure.

I haven't been shy about criticizing this administration in the past -- and I won't hesitate to do so in the future. But today, Internet users everywhere should thank President Obama and his staff. Today, they just might have saved the Internet.

[Aaron is CEO of Free Press]