President Barack Obama yesterday said he is still “unequivocally committed to net neutrality” and that he wants the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules that prevent Internet service providers from creating paid fast lanes.

“There are a lot of aspects to net neutrality,” Obama said in response to a question at an event hosted by Cross Campus in Santa Monica, CA. “I know one of the things people are most concerned about is paid prioritization, the notion that somehow, some folks can pay a little more money and get better service, more exclusive access to customers through the Internet. That’s something I oppose. I was opposed to it when I ran; I continue to be opposed to it now.”

Obama pointed out that the FCC is “an independent agency” but said he wants the commission to prevent paid prioritization.

“My appointee, [FCC Chairman] Tom Wheeler, knows my position,” Obama said. “Now that he’s there, I can’t just call him up and tell him exactly what to do. But what I’ve been clear about, what the White House has been clear about, is that we expect whatever final rules to emerge to make sure that we’re not creating two or three or four tiers of Internet.”

Obama said in January that his own presidential campaign "was empowered by a free and open Internet" and that it wouldn't have been successful "if there were a lot of commercial barriers and roadblocks."

Waiting for FCC action

Under previous chairman Julius Genachowski, the FCC issued net neutrality rules in 2010 that banned “unreasonable discrimination” by Internet service providers. The 2010 order didn’t ban fast lanes outright but noted, “It is unlikely that pay for priority would satisfy the 'no unreasonable discrimination' standard."

A federal appeals court struck those rules down this year, saying that the FCC imposed common carrier obligations upon broadband providers without first reclassifying them as common carriers. ISPs are opposed to such reclassification, which would open them up to utility-style regulation under Title II of the Communications Act.

The FCC voted for a net neutrality proposal in May that does not reclassify ISPs. Wheeler has insisted that Title II is still “on the table,” but he hasn’t issued a final proposal.