Obama Nominates Net Neutrality Backer for FCC Chief

[Joanne98]

President Barack Obama nominated on Tuesday Julius Genachowski - a lawyer, techie and former venture capitalist - to head the Federal Communications Commission.

The nomination of Genachowski as chairman was widely anticipated and quickly applauded by proponents of net neutrality, who hope an Obama FCC will move decisively to limit what telecoms can and cannot do with internet traffic on their networks.

Genachowski, a former Harvard law classmate of Obama's, served as Obama's top tech campaign advisor and helped shape the campaign's embrace of having the government create and enforce net neutrality rules.

Gigi Sohn, president of net neutrality-backing organization Public Knowledge, applauded the announcement with a statement showing she's already on a first name basis with Genachowski.

"Julius is an outstanding choice for FCC Chairman," Sohn said. "As the architect of President-elect Obama’s Technology and Innovation Plan, it is clear that he understands the importance of open networks and a regulatory environment that promotes innovation and competition to a robust democracy and a health economy."

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/03/obama-nominates.html