1:04 p.m., Dec. 14, 2015--As a federal court considers new national
rules on Internet service, a new study by the University of Delaware’s
Center for Political Communication shows most people still oppose
Internet “fast lanes.” But the study also shows Americans are reluctant
to give the federal government power to regulate “net neutrality.”
The study shows that a large majority of people surveyed still oppose
Internet fast lanes (71 percent). Opposition is down from a similar
survey one year ago (81 percent), when President Barack Obama announced
his support for new net neutrality rules. Such rules would restrict
Internet providers from offering “fast lanes” in the form of premium
service to web streaming operations such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.
The UD survey reveals a new partisan divide on the net neutrality
issue between Republicans and Democrats, with Republicans more likely to
favor allowing Internet service providers to charge extra for premium
speeds. In 2014, opposition to fast lanes did not differ significantly
by political party.
Lindsay Hoffman, the center’s associate director, observed that in
just one year, public opinion about this previously low profile issue
has become politically polarized. “When political leaders like President
Obama and senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who called net
neutrality ‘Obamacare for the Internet,’ take a position on an issue
like this, it becomes politicized for the public.”
Paul Brewer, the center’s director, pointed out that research on the
net neutrality issue is quite new, and the 2015 survey shows that public
responses on this issue depend on how the question is asked. “When
respondents are asked about ‘government regulation’ to achieve net
neutrality, 48 percent are opposed,” Brewer said. “There’s a disconnect
here; most Americans oppose Internet fast lanes, but nearly half also
oppose government regulations to accomplish that goal.”
The Federal Communications Commission is defending its Internet
service regulations in court against industry challengers who argue that
the FCC has no power to regulate Internet service as it has telephone
and television in the past.
The FCC rules were imposed last June, to keep Internet providers such
as Verizon and Comcast from blocking or slowing web access to some
users, and selling premium Internet privileges to others.
“The study also shows a modest increase in how much people have heard about the issue since last year.” said Brewer.
The telephone survey of 901 U.S. adults was conducted by the
University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication from Nov.
11-17, 2015. CPC Director Paul Brewer supervised the study.