Obama's Sellout On Net Neutrality: Appoints Cable Industry Lobbyist to Chair FCC - FCC Promptly Votes for Chair's Proposal To Kill Net Neutrality

FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler. (Screen capture from YouTube video)

By Todd Shields and Chris Strohm
U.S. regulators advanced a proposal to let Internet-service providers led by AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. charge Web companies such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. to provide fast lanes for their content.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler had enough reluctant support from his two fellow Democrats to win a 3-2 preliminary vote for his proposal, which advocacy groups and Internet companies said undermines the ideal of treating Web traffic equally.

RELATED STORY: Obama Must 'Make It Right' On Net Neutrality: After He Pledged To Fight For Net Neutrality His Appointed FCC Chair Proposes Net Bias

Internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast may benefit by charging more to distribute Internet content, while Web companies that might have to pay, such as Google and Netflix Inc., are at a disadvantage.

RELATED STORY: Net-Neutrality Advocates Angered by FCC’s Planned New Rules: Obama Appointed FCC Chair Who Was A Lobbyist for the Cable and Wireless Industry

The vote opens a comment-and-review period intended to lead to a second vote and a final rule later this year. A court in January threw out open-Internet rules the FCC adopted in 2010.

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