FCC's Tom Wheeler Talks Net Neutrality

TechCrunch writer Alex Wilhelm talked to FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler onstage today at TechCrunch Disrupt NY about the decision to pass new net neutrality regulations, Congressional troubles and Wheeler’s take on the failed Comcast/Time Warner merger.

The main discussion centered around the net neutrality decision and public opinion. The FCC passed new net neutrality regulations in late February to govern how Internet providers handled service. As was pointed out onstage, this was a particularly polarizing subject, with Senator Al Franken calling it the “free speech issue of our time,” and Senator and Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz saying this was “Obamacare for the Internet” on the other end of the spectrum.

But the tech community took a particular interest in the discussion, with many tech companies such as Google and Facebook using their influence with the American public to keep a proposed two-tier system from happening.

When asked if he was shocked by the sheer outpouring of comments from the public over net neutrality regulation, Wheeler said it was something to take note of but that this “was not something you make a decision based on bulk,” adding that the discussion over control of the Internet was something personal and that particular discussion was what was significant about it.