The FCC weighs breaking with Obama over the future of the Internet

Hours after President Barack Obama called for the Federal Communications Commission to pass tougher regulations on high-speed Internet providers, the agency’s Democratic chairman told a group of business executives that he was moving in a different direction.

Huddled in an FCC conference room with officials from major Web companies -- including Google, Yahoo and Etsy -- FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he preferred a more nuanced solution. His approach would deliver some of what President Obama wants but also would address the concerns of the companies that provide Internet access to millions of Americans, such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and AT&T. “What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn’t affect your business,” a visibly frustrated Chairman Wheeler said at the meeting, according to four people who attended. “What I’ve got to figure out is how to split the baby.” But critics have argued that his approach would give the providers too much leeway to favor some services over others. A growing source of frustration for White House and congressional Democrats is that they have three of their own on the five-member commission at the FCC, a majority that should give them the power to push through a policy of their liking. But if Chairman Wheeler charts a different course, he could bring the other members along with him.

And, as Chairman Wheeler reminded participants at his meeting with Web companies, the FCC does not answer to the Obama administration. “I am an independent agency,” Chairman Wheeler told them repeatedly