On Monday, Barack Obama finally stood up for the internet—but the head of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, is said to be 'frustrated' with the President's plan. And that means it may well break with Obama's thinking.
The Washington Post reports that Wheeler, talking to officials from Google, Yahoo and Etsy at the meeting were this news was announced Monday, appeared "visibly frustrated." Four sources claim that he was heard to say:
"What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn't affect your business. What I've got to figure out is how to split the baby."
He went on to say that he favored a more "nuanced" solution than that laid out by Obama, repeating several times that "I am an independent agency." Ignoring the small dose of megalomania creeping in there, the message is clear: this FCC chairman ain't taking no orders.
Indeed, Obama admitted Monday that the FCC is an independent agency, explaining that "ultimately this decision is theirs alone." Despite the President's best efforts, then, we're really not any closer to knowing how net neutrality governance will fall. [Washington Post]