He hosted a town hall with a group of tech entrepreneurs at the Cross Campus workspace. Obama commits to net neutrality

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — President Barack Obama said Thursday that he’s “unequivocally” committed to net neutrality.

In his first stop of a three-day trip to California built mostly around midterm fundraising, Obama hosted a town hall with a group of tech entrepreneurs at the Cross Campus workspace that serves the start-up community.


Responding to a question from a woman who said her business is training people in “mindfulness meditation” — something the president joked that he needs — Obama said his administration was going to make sure net neutrality remains untouched.

( Also on POLITICO: Get ready for Obamacare tax chaos)

“It’s what has unleashed the power of the Internet, and we don’t want to lose that or clog up the pipes,” Obama said.

The president also said his administration is committed to patent reform for the same reasons of encouraging growth.

He noted concerns about “folks filing phony patents, and costing some of our best innovators tons of money in court, or even if they don’t go to court, having to pay them off just because they’re making a bogus claim.”

Obama emphasized seeking intellectual property protections and fighting piracy overseas.

“Piracy ends up being a huge problem overseas, and that’s an area where we’ve stepped up enforcement,” he said.