FCC rejects Netflix’s net neutrality plea

The Federal Communications Commission said today that it won’t be expanding the scope of net neutrality regulations, despite the recent call to arms by streaming-video service Netflix. Last month Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote an impassioned essay that called upon the FCC to create new regulations that would expand the scope of net neutrality for high-speed Internet operators like Comcast and Verizon.

The Federal Communications Commission has no plans to expand its net-neutrality rules to ensure that services like Netflix can connect to Internet providers’ networks for free. But the agency is eyeing other avenues to regulate special deals between websites and Internet providers—an area of concern for consumer groups after Netflix paid Comcast for better access to its customers. At a press conference Monday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler argued that the government has a critical role to play in overseeing how networks connect to each other. But it is “not a net-neutrality issue,” he said.