Barack Obama, self-confessed BlackBerry addict, will undoubtedly be the most tech-savvy president in history. But being tech-savvy isn’t the same as being tech-smart.

The combination of Obama in the White House and new leaders of key tech-related committees in Congress should send warning flags up for all who cherish the freedom and vitality of the Internet.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the technology sector. Waxman-like Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee-is a strong proponent of so-called “net neutrality.” Despite its innocent-sounding moniker, net neutrality is hardly neutral.

A federal law mandating net neutrality would strip Internet service providers (ISPs) of the ability to control how they manage Web traffic over the broadband infrastructure they developed, built, own, and market to the public.

Read the full article by James G. Lakely in News Blaze here.

Net neutrality has become a big issue in the US as internet congestion has increased. In Europe, regulators and industry players have claimed that the situation is different because users have more choice of network providers, and the debate has been more muted.

However, there have been growing concern among big telecoms companies that changes introduced in the European Parliament into the so-called telecoms package – the sweeping legislation which is designed to overhaul European Union telecoms laws – could open doors to net neutrality regulation in the future.

Read the full story in ‘Financial Times’ here.