US Politicians Debate "Net Neutrality"Vocabulary and Expressionssuspend fu

US Politicians Debate "Net Neutrality"
   Another political fight is taking shape in Washington, D. C. One side wants rules to suspend plans to charge extra for some heavy users of the Internet. The other side says new rules will slow the economic growth fueled by online services.
   Earlier this year, U. S. regulators proposed big changes in the way the Internet operates in the country. The Federal Communications Commission voted to offer a plan that could affect Internet service providers. Under the plan, the service providers could make deals with companies like Google and Facebook to provide them with faster paths to get their content to consumers.
   Some consumer groups and Internet companies oppose the plan. President Obama also dislikes the proposed changes.
   "Ever since the Internet was created, it has been organized around basic principles of openness, fairness and freedom. There are no gatekeepers deciding which sites you get to access, there are no toll roads on the information superhighway. This set of principles, the idea of net neutrality, has unleashed the power of the Internet and given innovators the chance to thrive. Abandoning these principles would end the Internet as we know it. "
   The FCC is an independent regulator, so President Obama cannot order the FCC to make changes. Harold Furchtgott-Roth, an economist and former FCC commissioner, says the Internet adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the U. S. economy. He adds that new rules would be unnecessary and unwise.
   "American online companies are the leading on-line companies in the world in practically every field. I think that is in part a result of our lighter regulatory approach relative to a lot of other countries. "
   The former commissioner says even the threat of new rules is bad for the investments needed to support innovation on the Internet. Some Republican members of Congress and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce are in agreement with Mr. Furchtgott-Roth. The Chamber of Commerce speaks for many major businesses.
   The issue will likely be fought over by regulators, the courts and Congress.