We will find out if President Obama can do for the internet what he did for the recovery of the American Economy.
On Thursday, [FCC head, Tom] Wheeler is expected to present to the commission a set of rules that would treat broadband providers like utilities, effectively denying them the right to charge companies a premium for faster access to consumers and holding them accountable for any attempt to secretly impede the flow of data. When the commission finally approves them — a vote is scheduled for late February — it will mark the most significant rewrite of the rules of the road for the Internet in more than a dozen years and affect the competitive playing field for generations to come.
Wheeler did not speak officially for this report. But interviews with FCC officials, industry executives and representatives of public interest groups reveal the origins of his dramatic pivot on this issue: an intense and relatively brief grass-roots lobbying campaign that targeted two people — him and President Barack Obama.
Congress can pass a bill that would nullify these rules, but you know that the President won’t sign it, and the majority won’t be enough to override a veto.
It’s been nice knowing y’all.
It was nice while it lasted.