Code/red: FCC Chairman a Total Nightmare

// HAPPENING TODAY

• Cisco reports earnings.
• Twitter’s investor day.
• The Rosetta Mission’s comet landing.

Tom Wheeler: I Am a Golden God

Note to a sitting president who once said, “I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over”: If you opt to tap a former lobbyist for the cable and wireless industries as head of the federal agency that regulates them, don’t be surprised when he balks at your call to pass tougher regulations on high-speed Internet service. The Washington Post reports that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has been telling executives from major Internet companies that he’s not entirely on board with President Barack Obama’s plan to reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, nor does he have to be, as the agency doesn’t answer to the Obama administration. Said Wheeler, “I am an independent agency.” There’s no “I” in team, Tom.

Comcast: Reiterating Our Strong Support for Muahahahahaha

Speaking of net neutrality, Comcast* which on Monday slagged Obama for what it described as a “radical reversal” on the issue, today worries that its knee-jerk outburst may have been misunderstood. What Comcast meant when it said that Obama’s network neutrality proposal would “harm investment and innovation” was this: “Surprise! We Agree With the President’s Principles on Net Neutrality,” which conveniently is the title of this troll of a blog post from EVP David Cohen. “What is remarkable is that if you compare the President’s articulation of his vision for net neutrality as set forth in the White House talking points released yesterday afternoon, we are on the record as agreeing with every point,” Cohen writes, adding, “This is not game playing or sophistry on our part.” But of course it is. Obama wants the Internet to be reclassified under Title II of the Communications Act; Comcast does not. And while it’s true that the company already practices a number of the Open Internet rules for which Obama has been calling, it is legally obligated to do so because of conditions imposed on its purchase of NBCUniversal.

*Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is a minority investor in Revere Digital, Re/code’s parent company.

Yes, After Five CEOs in Five Years, a New CEO Is Exactly What Yahoo Needs

Reuters: “At least two top-10 Yahoo shareholders are so unhappy with chief executive Marissa Mayer’s turnaround efforts that they are making a direct plea to AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to explore a merger and run the combined company.”

AOL CEO: I Love the Smell of Shingy in the Morning

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong: “The cleaning lady was in here last night, and I’m like, ‘I love the smell of this table!’ She was like, ‘Um, O.K.’ac”

Speaking of Shingy, Perhaps Yahoo Should Acquire Him …

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is beginning to dip into the $6.3 billion the company pocketed from selling shares in the Alibaba IPO. Late Tuesday, Yahoo said it will acquire video advertising delivery platform BrightRoll. Price: $640 million in cash.

Latest Windows Vulnerability Carbon-Dated to 1995

Microsoft has patched a critical vulnerability in Windows that has existed in every version of the operating system since 1995.

AT&T CEO Would Like FCC to Get Its Act Together

The current net neutrality debacle in Washington has given AT&T cause to reconsider its big fiber rollout. This according to CEO Randall Stephenson, who thinks it unwise to undertake that kind of capital expenditure under such a hazy regulatory horizon. “We can’t go out and invest that kind of money deploying fiber to 100 cities not knowing under what rules those investments will be governed,” Stephenson said. “We think it is prudent to just pause and make sure we have line of sight and understanding as to what those rules would look like.”

Off Topic

Punktendo.

Thanks for reading. Send tips, comments, Off Topics and banana slicing tips to John@recode.net, @johnpaczkowski. Subscribe to the Code/red newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via