During a question-and-answer session on YouTube, President Obama reiterated his support of net neutrality regulations--one of the major tech themes of his campaign--but also moved a step further on the issue by hinting that he might be against metered broadband or tiered pricing. "We're getting push-back, obviously, from some of the bigger carriers who would like to be able to charge more fees and extract more money from wealthier customers," he said. "But we think that runs counter to the whole spirit of openness that has made the Internet such a powerful engine for not only economic growth, but also for the generation of ideas and creativity." It's unclear though how the president's positions could eventually worm their way into policy; the FCC is in the midst of implementing net neutrality guidelines. The president's comments come in the wake of statements made last week by Robert McDowell, one of the two Republican commissioners at the FCC. McDowell said that if the commission adopts broad new net neutrality rules for wireless and wireline networks, the agency's authority to do so will likely be challenged in the courts. Article, article, video
