New FCC Proposal May Ban Internet Fast-Lanes

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Tom Wheeler on Wednesday proposed new rules that would treat the Internet like a public utility.

The new rules aim to prohibit access to so-called Internet fast-lanes for companies and websites willing to pay for faster delivery of their content.

The commission will vote on the rules later this month. And they could have a widespread impact on how we all use the Internet and the status of what's known as "net neutrality."

Timothy Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School who is credited with coming up with the term "net neutrality," tells Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson that he is in favor of the new rules.

But David Farber, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Delaware who has helped to design parts of the Internet, tells Hobson he has some reservations about this new approach.