Obama Seizes Control of Internet

History will record February 26, 2015, as the date the federal government did what few thought possible.  It commandeered control of the Internet, a technological marvel which grew from a small computer network into a global system with no centralized governance or policies.

From its humble beginnings in the 1980s, the Internet has transformed the way people and businesses communicate, work, purchase goods and share information.  Spared from intrusive government interference, the Internet has surpassed even the most optimistic predictions about its potential.

Now that is about to change.  The Democrat-controlled Federal Communications Commission bowed to pressure from President Obama and deep-pocketed lobbying organizations, in announcing 332 pages of regulations designed to achieve a dubious goal of "net neutrality."

Although the regulations remain cloaked in secrecy, it is clear the president wants the heavy hand of the federal government to hold the Internet reins.  Despite FCC assurances to the contrary, regulators will have the power to tax, regulate content and curb commercial activities. 

The president bullied the FCC into adopting his Internet agenda.  Obama publicly demanded the regulatory maneuver, calling on repeated occasions for his three pawns on the five-member commission to reclassify broadband communications as a regulated public utility.

This regulatory approach is reminiscent of policies adopted in 1934 to deal with a monopoly phone system.  It has no place in the competitive, high-tech Internet world.  Once implemented, the new restrictions will have a chilling impact on Internet investment, innovation and technology.

The regulatory confiscation was an overzealous reaction to an imaginary problem.  The Internet is not broken.  But powerful forces, including business giants Netflix, Amazon and Goggle, marshaled public support for regulation under the  guise of something called net neutrality.

These corporate behemoths benefit from the investment and networks of Internet service providers such as  cable and broadband companies.  Although the three giants generate nearly half of the Internet traffic, they want their content to flow to users without paying network costs.   

The cabal coined the innocuous term "net neutrality" to mean treating all Internet traffic equally.  But it was an effort to brainwash the public into believing video streaming would be faster and less costly if service providers were heavily regulated.

Behind the scenes, Obama's clandestine collaborators poured millions of dollars into lobbying and propaganda.  The Open Society Foundation, created by ultra-liberal billionaire George Soros, and the Ford Foundation spent $196 million on the issue, according to Media Research Center.

Piles of cash were dispatched to organizations such as Free Press, a pro-regulation, non-profit with ties to Robert McChesney, an advocate for removing all vestiges of capitalism from the Internet. Other groups benefiting from the largess included the ACLU and the Center for American Progress.

Emails began flooding the FCC commission, providing its Chairman Tom Wheeler ample cover to change his mind and embrace Obama's position on Internet regulation.  The orchestrated campaign involving the White House and its co-conspirators gave the appearance of universal public approval.

Meanwhile, the news media whipped up enthusiasm for the regulation by regurgitating the president's talking points.  Their interests were served because traditional media has lost billions in advertising dollars to Internet firms.  Big media hopes regulators will reduce advertising on the Internet.

Obama's sycophants are quick to promise the regulation will improve the Internet.  Give it a chance to work, they plead.  Those same pledges were made when the president directed the takeover of health care.  His coup led to his name being affixed to the reform.

If you like ObamaCare with all its broken promises, you are  bound to love ObamaNet.