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Net neutrality: Anything but a partisan issue

While Ted Cruz and President Obama may make net neutrality seem like a partisan issue, internet service providers have invested heavily in both Republicans and…

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President Obama’s vocal support for preserving an open internet without “fast lanes” was met with some celebration from net neutrality advocates. Others, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), seized the opportunity to take another stab at the White House’s administration.

On Monday, Obama released a video and letter calling for the reclassification of internet service providers under Title II of the Communications Act. That means that Obama wants the FCC to be able to regulate internet service providers like utilities. Ted Cruz painted the support as another overstep in big government, echoing a Wall Street Journal opinion article from May that joined a less-vocal net neutrality opposition who think that internet service providers, or ISPs, like Comcast and Verizon should not be regulated by the FCC.

Comcast’s Cohen agreed, arguing that Congress should legislate net neutrality rules, not the FCC. Advocates have argued that without FCC-regulated net neutrality,  ISPs will launch a pay-for-speed system in which sites can pay to have their content delivered faster, rendering those without financial resources slower. Comcast, AT&T and Verizon have all maintained that they believe in net neutrality and don’t plan on creating internet fast lanes. However, Verizon has made it clear that if the FCC tries to regulate ISPs like utilities, the company will sue.

The proposed FCC plan has taken a middle-of-the-road approach that hasn’t pleased either advocates or internet providers. The plan could allow some paid service, but require transparency of pricing and maintain some control over ISPs that was denied the commission in January by a high court judge.

A debate among friends?

Unlike Cruz’s and Obama’s comments made it seem, net neutrality is anything but a partisan issue. Comcast’s Vice President, David Cohen, has frequently hosted fundraising parties at his home for Obama, raising more than $500,000 total for the 2012 election cycle alone. Individuals working for Comcast and company-affiliated PACs have contributed $11 million total since 2008 to members of Congress on either side of the aisle. Ted Cruz was one of those recipients.

In 2011, 91 of the 97 members of Congress who supported the Comcast-NBC merger had received a campaign contribution from the company, and has funded every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which is overseeing its yet-to-be-approved merger with Time Warner Cable. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 25 members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, own shares in Comcast Corp.

Even the Federal Communications Commission has roots in the industry with what critics call the “revolving door” of lobbyists and regulators. Former FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker worked for Comcast, and now runs lobbyist group CTIA Wireless Association. That used to be current FCC chairman Tom Wheeler’s job, along with heading the National Cable and Telecommunications Association which is now led by former FCC chairman Michael Powell.

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