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WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to the issue of "Net Neutrality," the White House is coming down on the side of consumer activists.
They're afraid that if Internet providers are allowed to charge more money to Netflix and other big sources of content -- to make sure their material is put on a fast-track -- consumers would face slower download speeds and higher costs. President Barack Obama wants federal regulators to prohibit those arrangements.
Republicans and the nation's cable giants are denouncing the White House position, and saying it will kill jobs. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas tweeted that "Net Neutrality" is, in his words, "Obamacare for the Internet." He said, "The Internet should not operate at the speed of government."
And a lobbyist for the cable industry -- which supplies much of the nation's Internet access -- says a shift away from light regulation of the Internet would bring "devastating results."
But an association representing content providers like Netflix, Twitter, eBay and Google is applauding Obama's statement. Netflix says on its Facebook page that consumers -- and not "broadband gatekeepers" -- should be the ones to "pick winners and losers on the Internet."
%@AP Links
198-a-13-(President Barack Obama, in statement released via the White House website)-"we know it"-President Obama, in a statement released via the White House website, says there have never been gatekeepers or toll roads on the Internet and it must remain that way. (10 Nov 2014)
<<CUT *198 (11/10/14)££ 00:13 "we know it"
200-a-07-(President Barack Obama, in statement released via the White House website)-"and everyday life"-President Obama, in a statement released via the White House website, says he's asking the FCC to reclassify the Internet as a public utility. (10 Nov 2014)
<<CUT *200 (11/10/14)££ 00:07 "and everyday life"
APPHOTO WX102: FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2011 file photo, the exterior of Netflix headquarters is seen in Los Gatos, Calif. Internet providers shouldn't be allowed cut deals with online services like Netflix or YouTube to move their content faster, and should be regulated more like phone companies, President Barack Obama said Monday in an announcement that was swiftly rejected by industry. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File) (10 Oct 2011)
<<APPHOTO WX102 (10/10/11)££
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