In the official blog of the White House, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Gene Sperling and United States Chief Technology Officer and Assistant to the President Todd Park reaffirmed the support of the Obama administration towards net neutrality.
Part of the post read, "Preserving an open Internet is vital not to just to the free flow of information, but also to promoting innovation and economic productivity.... Absent net neutrality, the Internet could turn into a high-priced private toll road that would be inaccessible to the next generation of visionaries. The resulting decline in the development of advanced online apps and services would dampen demand for broadband and ultimately discourage investment in broadband infrastructure. An open Internet removes barriers to investment worldwide."
The post was made in response to 105,000 online petitioners on the platform WeThePeople that sought to stop Internet Service Providers from charging websites more for faster speeds. ISPs would be able to make more money if they would be able to ask for more from services for their websites to run at a faster rate. Those who support net neutrality, which includes large technology firms and civil liberty groups, are concerned that this would easily kick to the curb those who can't afford to pay the high fees and put a stop to the meritocracy of the Internet, a TechCrunch report said.
The push for net neutrality hit a roadblock last month when a circuit court struck down the Open Internet Order of the Federal Communications Commission, TechCrunch reported.
Sperling and Park wrote in the blog post, "It was also encouraging to see Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, whom the President appointed to that post last year, reaffirm his commitment to a free and open Internet and pledge to use the authority granted by Congress to maintain a free and open Internet. The White House strongly supports the FCC and Chairman Wheeler in this effort."
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