FCC Chairman reportedly revises controversial net neutrality proposal

The Wall Street Journal reports that the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, is revising the commission’s proposal to regulate broadband internet in response to enormous public outcry. The WSJ says the changed report will offer “assurances that the agency won’t allow companies to segregate Web traffic into fast and slow lanes,” but may not appease the huge number of people who feel the FCC’s plans will allow internet service providers to dictate consumer web usage.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is revising proposed rules for regulating broadband Internet, including offering assurances that the agency won’t allow companies to segregate Web traffic into fast and slow lanes. The new language by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to be circulated as early as Monday is an attempt to address criticism of his proposal unveiled last month that would ban broadband providers from blocking or slowing down websites but allow them to strike deals in which content companies could pay them for faster delivery of Web content to customers. The plan has drawn criticism from a wide range of players in the technology world, including Google Inc., Netflix Inc.NFLX +1.72% and dozens of prominent tech investors, who say that such deals will inherently segregate the Internet into fast and slow lanes.