--- ---  # #TheBrief: The Battle for Control of the Internet by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Nov 11, 2014 5:04 PM UTC  Protesters hold a rally to support "net neutrality" on May 15, 2014 at the FCC in Washington, DC. Protesters hold a rally to support "net neutrality" on May 15, 2014 at the FCC in Washington, DC.Karen Bleier—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Nov 11, 2014 5:04 PM UTC President Obama took to the White House YouTube channel Monday to call for broadband internet providers to be regulated as a utility — a move that signals his support for the concept of “[net neutrality](http://time.com/3575950/obama-internet-net-neutrality/)“. What’s net neutrality? It’s the idea that Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast or Verizon should treat all content equally. It might not sound like an inspirational cause, but the question of who has rights to control the Internet affects almost everyone. Cable companies are clamoring for the right to give faster speeds to certain clients, while many content providers are in favor of keeping all data on the Internet on equal footing. Watch #TheBrief to find out what’s at stake. Net Neutrality is a Battle for the Internet ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3578043/thebrief-net-neutrality-obama-fcc/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3578043/thebrief-net-neutrality-obama-fcc/"},"headline":"#TheBrief: The Battle for Control of the Internet","datePublished":"2014-11-11T17:04:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:39.083Z","description":"Explaining what 'net neutrality' really means to you — and the future of the Internet","url":"https://time.com/3578043/thebrief-net-neutrality-obama-fcc/","keywords":["The Brief","Tech","Internet","Obama","Data topic","Net neutrality","Cable","Corporations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b641ea14358bde6/69876825e53abae1d74d5d7e/490832263.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b641ea14358bde6/69876825e53abae1d74d5d7e/490832263.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-IT-INTERNET-FCC","caption":"US-IT-INTERNET-FCC","creditText":"Karen Bleier—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/the-brief/","name":"The Brief"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3578043/thebrief-net-neutrality-obama-fcc/","name":"#TheBrief: The Battle for Control of the Internet"}}]}] ```