Wisconsin’s two US Senators are taking opposing views on President Obama’s recent call for new Internet regulations to protect net neutrality.
The President wants the Federal Communications Commission to protect open access to Internet content with rules designed to stop service providers from blocking or slowing down access to certain websites. Democratic US Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) says the public showed strong support for the move earlier this year, when the agency took public comment on proposed rules. Baldwin believes “equal equitable access to the Internet…is something we hold very dear.”
AUDIO: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (:14)
The president also want to reclassify broadband Internet services under Title two of the Communications Act, which would essentially treat providers like public utilities. Republican US Senator Ron Johnson argued in a statement that the move would “stall investment and innovation,” although Baldwin believes it would ensure the internet does not become a two-tiered system and it’s the “right direction to go in.”
Baldwin says providers can’t be allowed to create an uneven playing field in what’s essentially an online marketplace for services and ideas.
