Obama: Web freedom will be part of Democratic platform

By Doug Gross, CNN

President Barack Obama posted this photo of himself answering questions on social-sharing site Reddit on Monday afternoon.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- This week, Republicans made a free and open Internet part of their party's 2012 platform.

On Wednesday, during a visit with some of the most ardent open-Web supporters, President Barack Obama said Democrats will do the same.

"Internet freedom is something I know you all care passionately about; I do too," Obama wrote during an AMA ("ask me anything") on social-news site Reddit. "We will fight hard to make sure that the Internet remains the open forum for everybody -- from those who are expressing an idea to those to want to start a business."

Obama became the most high-profile person to host one of the site's live chats, during which well-known figures take questions live. The site's two most popular AMA's before Wednesday were astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and "Jeopardy" champ Ken Jennings.

As such, many users were having trouble following the conversation in real time, with the sheer amount of traffic causing the page to load slowly, or not at all, from time to time.

Obama was responding to a question, noting that Republicans had included an entire section promising protections for Internet freedom in their platform at the party convention being held in Tampa, Florida.

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, has been a leading Web-freedom voice in the GOP and reportedly pushed hard for the language to be included. Obama promised similar action when Democrats convene next week in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Obama: Web freedom will be part of Democratic platform