Netflix, the largest video- subscription service, backed President Barack Obama's call for stricter regulation of the Internet to prevent cable and phone companies from restricting what people can access.

"President Obama agrees: consumers should pick winners and losers on the Internet, not broadband gatekeepers," Netflix said today on its Facebook page.

President Obama is triggering a new debate over regulation of Web services, calling for “an explicit ban on paid prioritisation,” which Netflix pays some Internet service providers to ensure its video streaming operates properly.

The US federal communication commission is considering a plan that allows the possibility of so-called fast lanes.

- Bloomberg