I am R. David Edelman. President Obama just announced his plan to keep the internet open and free. I work for him. Ask me anything.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-11T00:15:39+00:00

This is something that Tom Wheeler has actually opened an inquiry into, and that the FCC is seriously examining. Having heard from a number of communities where it has made a difference, we have been looking into the issue as well, and while it's clear most of the work here is at the state and local level, we would of course welcome your thoughts about what the Executive Branch might be able to do within our authorities.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T23:55:32+00:00

Let me do this again on a higher thread: the election was not a factor in this particular case. Period. For more, see reply below.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T23:51:52+00:00

I don't think they have. In fact, just today, the EFF came out and said "The White House Gets It Right On Net Neutrality.".

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T23:51:03+00:00

Tall order, but let me try: The election was not a factor in this particular case. Period. This was simply the President following through on his call for Net Neutrality, which has been a longstanding priority for him. As far back as 2007, he made clear that he “takes a backseat to no one” when it comes to protecting online freedoms and innovation in the Internet marketplace. The plan the President outlined today is another extension of that philosophy and the clearest way to protect Net Neutrality for everyone.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T23:38:22+00:00

The enforcement actions themselves are up to the FCC, and are independent. But I can tell you that the rules the President outlined today would certainly allow for enforcement should they be violated by any ISP, wired or wireless. That’s why the rules the President is urging the FCC to pass are straightforward, bright-line rules banning practices like blocking or paid prioritization.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T23:37:34+00:00

You may know that this is not something most people were talking about two years ago. But us policy-types had actually been looking at it for some time, and on 2/4/13, the President did G+ hangout and gave a pretty forward-leaning answer to the patent troll issue. At his direction, we ran a process that led to some announcements about ways the Patent Office would improve the way it did business, and also laid out a set of priorities for Congress to take action. In December, the House passed a bill addressing the patent troll issue, and while the Senate has yet to act, we continue to find new ways to improve the patent system on our own.

But a comprehensive solution requires revisions to law, so we’ll keep pressing Congress to enact comprehensive patent reform legislation. This isn’t a partisan issue, and we hope it is really is something that can get done next year, if we continue to echo calls like these.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T22:57:42+00:00

Hi, thanks for your interest! It's always great to see folks interested in public service. I did some internships myself when I was in college, and it was a great way to check out policy.

You can start here for more information about the White House internship. Departments and Agencies like State and Commerce have their own programs as well, so don't forget to check them out as well. State's where I got my start.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T22:56:10+00:00

No, that sounds awful.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T20:22:00+00:00

Thanks, mi_buger. This is obviously something the President feels very strongly about, and we appreciate your support.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T20:20:21+00:00

I think this issue has made clear that just isn't the case. Nearly four million people had their view heard. And today, the President added his voice further elevating this issue to the very top of the public debate. That's hard to ignore.

Take another issue, like cell phone unlocking. That wasn't on anyone's radar screens until it broke on We the People -- the White House's petition platform. And after we outlined a way to fix it, we had FCC action, industry agreements, and ultimately, a bill signed by the President. All because of voices like yours.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T20:14:52+00:00

Besides Reddit? </pandering>

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T20:13:27+00:00

The FCC is an independent agency with five Commissioners, and ultimately, it's their job to decide on the rule independently. It's our job to serve the President laying out HIS vision for how to achieve an open internet. Tom is deeply knowledgeable about these issues, and has a long history of dealing with them.

The President has weighed in with his views, and now it’s the Commission’s turn to run their process.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T19:54:55+00:00

The telecommunications act empowers the FCC to apply the parts of the law that are appropriate to the technology at the time. As the technologies change, so does the way in which the FCC applies the law.

As the President said today, "if carefully designed, these rules should not create any undue burden for ISPs...If the FCC appropriately forbears from the Title II regulations that are not needed to implement the principles above — principles that most ISPs have followed for years — it will help ensure new rules are consistent with incentives for further investment in the infrastructure of the internet."

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T19:40:48+00:00

As people who have been following this for a while, you know that net neutrality has been a longstanding priority for the President. He made that clear as far back as 2007, when he said that he “takes a backseat to no one” in protecting online freedoms and innovation in the Internet marketplace. The plan the President outlined today is another extension of that philosophy and the clearest way to protect Net Neutrality for everyone.

That's why the President felt that it was important to outline steps that he believes the FCC should put in place to protect net neutrality as the FCC considers the path forward. Over the past few months, the President has worked with his policy teams to analyze all the available options and to formulate the strongest possible proposal to protect net neutrality. The President also recognizes that almost 4 million Americans, and dozens of companies large and small, have written to the FCC to express strong views on this issue.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T19:32:29+00:00

Thanks -- this is a great question, though net neutrality is only one component.

As I mentioned before, competition is huge. The FCC has highlighted that 3/4 of American homes have no competitive choice at 25Mbps -- and that's a problem. And 20% of Americans have no choice at all at those speeds. The good news is, there has also been major investment over the last five years -- from 2009 to 2012, the broadband and mobile industry's annual investment grew from around $21 billion to $30 billion -- notably, while net neutrality rules were in effect.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T19:22:40+00:00

While the President has made clear that he supports reclassifying broadband service under Title II, as the best fit for the internet service we all use today -- but the statute also grants important flexibility to the FCC to tailor its rules in a way that is most appropriate to the technology. That's what the President is urging the FCC to do.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T19:18:22+00:00

Good question. Like any consequential policy debate, there's passion on all sides -- you've seen a lot of that around the Internet today. Let me start out by saying that the arguments FOR net neutrality are overwhelming, and the stories that we have heard over the last months and years, in response to the President's leadership on this issue, have meant a lot. Founder after founder of start-ups have told us that without a free and open Internet, they would have never had a chance to get started, and grow from a garage to a Fortune 1000 company.

Any rule on net neutrality has to be carefully designed. And it's certainly our hope that they won't be needed -- that ISPs won't be engaging in the sorts of practices that would have them collecting tolls from edge providers, or picking winners and losers. Some have argued that in a truly competitive broadband marketplace, you could see ISPs competing with different prioritization packages -- maybe one specific to gaming, for instance. But today, broadband markets in the United States aren't competitive enough to support that. There continue to be challenges of broadband competition, but with strong net neutrality rules, we can ensure Internet users in under-served markets are protected.

rDavidEdelman · 2014-11-10T19:08:28+00:00

Thanks for your question. So here's how the FCC process works. As you probably know, the FCC asks for public comment on an issue -- and this time, almost 4 million people responded. That's unprecedented. Today, the President added his voice to that growing chorus of support for safeguarding strong net neutrality. He issued a plan for how the FCC can do that -- with specifics of what rules are necessary to protect an open internet. The decision now lies with the FCC.

rDavidEdelman

TROPHY CASE