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Obama breaks his silence on saving the Internet

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This could be a turning point in the fight to save the Internet from a corporate takeover. Read the full statement President Obama made Tuesday–the first time he’s spoken publicly about Net Neutrality since the FCC advanced a plan that would create a two-tiered Internet:

One of the issues around net neutrality is whether you are creating different rates or charges for different content providers. That’s the big controversy here.

So you have big, wealthy media companies who might be willing to pay more and also charge more for spectrum, more bandwidth on the Internet so they can stream movies faster.

I personally, the position of my administration, as well as a lot of the companies here, is that you don’t want to start getting a differentiation in how accessible the Internet is to different users.

You want to leave it open so the next Google and the next Facebook can succeed.

President Obama’s remarks represent significant progress in the grassroots fight to save the Internet, and come on the heels of hundreds of MoveOn members and other Netroots activists rallying outside two of the president’s fundraisers in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, filling news coverage from California to Washington. Members have called the White House daily for months, and more than 1 million people commented on the FCC’s proposal. President Obama has responded with a message that’s sure to reach the FCC commissioners he appointed.

It’s not too late for Tom Wheeler, the FCC Chairman who President Obama appointed, to pursue the path to preserve an open and equal Internet for future generations, by treating the Internet as a public utility.

Can you share this graphic to spread the word that President Obama is responding to our call?