Net neutrality not as 'neutral' as portrayed

President Obama and his supporters have long advocated for what they call a "free and open Internet," one where all content is treated equally and Internet service providers (ISPs) cannot slow down or create paid fast lanes. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved net neutrality in 2015, putting the Internet in the same classification as the telephone. Since that time, the FCC's order has been in a lengthy court battle – a battle that Seton Motley of Less Government hopes the FCC loses.

"The concern is it's a government oversight of the entire Internet ecosphere, with regard to Internet service providers," says Motley. "Part of my problem with it is ... it only applies to Internet service providers; it doesn't apply to Netflix and Google [for example]."

Motley also calls it a solution running around in search of a problem.

"They're trying to make sure that no traffic is treated differently than any other traffic on the net – and that's just not how the net works," he explains. "You don't want your Internet service provider treating spam email from Nigeria the same as your email from your grandmother – no one wants that. So that's unequal treatment of traffic."

Meanwhile, Motley says government exemptions for certain sites and companies will only result in "a lobbying fest," adding to the uncertainty and lack of investment created by the push for net neutrality.