In a statement released by the White House today, the president called for an "explicit ban" on such deals. Obama also said that federal regulators should reclassify the Internet as a public utility under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act.
Obama's statement puts him in the middle of a debate between industry, which wants little regulation, and the Federal Communications Commission, which is under public pressure to prevent broadband providers from creating so-called Internet "fast lanes.