‘How to Split the Baby’: FCC Chief Diverges from Obama on Internet Plan

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has signaled mixed feelings over President Obama’s support for tougher regulations on Internet providers.

Obama said Monday that a free and open Internet is a necessity like electricity and telephone service, and should be regulated like those utilities to protect consumers.

Hours after Obama made his comments, The Washington Post reported, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler split from the president when he told executives from several major tech companies, including Google and Yahoo:

What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn’t affect your business. What I’ve got to figure out is how to split the baby.

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Obama’s  written statement Monday was his strongest yet in support of “Net Neutrality,” the concept that all content online should be treated equally.

“We cannot allow Internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas,” Obama said.

Those arguing against Net Neutrality, mostly Internet providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable and AT&T, insist the Internet should be treated like cable television service. In this model, Internet providers can negotiate deals with content companies such as Netflix or Hulu, which must pay to stream their service.

Supporters of Net Neutrality say Internet users should be able to access content produced by anyone, regardless of whether they have a business deal with the Internet provider.

The FCC, led by Wheeler, a Democrat appointed by Obama, is an independent agency that sets its own policy and doesn’t have to follow the president’s lead.

“By stepping in, Obama has reduced the chances that Wheeler will be able to negotiate compromises to bridge the gap among supporters of regulation,”  James Gattuso, a senior research fellow at  The Heritage Foundation, wrote Monday. “That leaves the possibility that the FCC won’t be able to act at all to impose regulation. That might be the best outcome of all.”

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