UPDATED 14:37 EDT / MARCH 25 2013

Should Net Neutrality Be Off The Table For Next FCC Commissioner? – Breaking Analysis

A lot of appointments have been made by the Obama administration, but more often than not, people tend to focus on the big positions – and with good reason.

But here at SiliconANGLE, we don’t like to leave any stones un-turned, and when it comes to the tech industry, appointments for the FCC are on par with The Supreme Court as far as appointments go.

The newest appointments, however, are coming to us in a slightly unusual manner, in that two positions at the FCC are being vacated; one by Chairman Julius Genachowski, a Democrat, and the other by Commissioner Robert McDowell, a Republican.

The current rules of the FCC dictate that there cannot be any more than 3 members of any given political party on the commission, so the coming appointments will likely include a Republican appointment coming from President Obama.  This exercise in crossing the aisle may very well be a good one too, considering the exiting commissioners lauded one-another with high praise following their exit.

Commissioner McDowell said in regards to his former Chairman, “[Genachowski was] a gentleman to work with. He was able to get past our disagreements quickly and move on to the next issue. And that’s how it should be.”

And I, for one, couldn’t agree more.

As a person that loves, works on and constantly uses the internet, FCC commissioners getting past politics and focusing on what’s right for the people is crucial, considering the power the FCC wields.

Our very own Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins commented on this earlier, stating, “I don’t want the government knowing exactly what every packet I send on the internet is.”  and his message couldn’t have hit closer to home.  When it comes to the rights of privacy and speech, there’s little room for politics, and many believe that the government shouldn’t even become involved at all.

“I would take Net Neutrality completely off the table,” added Hopkins, “leave an environment more conducive to competition, because people will tend to use services that provide them a better internet experience – and a better internet experience is a network neutral experience.”

So really, I suppose that means the big question isn’t really a matter of left-right politics, but rather a matter of regulation.

Fortunately, as Hopkins later stated, “the FCC has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.”

As for what’s to come, let’s just hope that whoever is appointed doesn’t have any crazy ideas about rocking the boat.

For more on this and other news,don’t forget to watch us live and online on the Morning NewsDesk Show with Kristin Feledy.

photo credit: Inventorchris via photopin cc

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