Billionaire investor Mark Cuban was none too impressed with the new rules on Internet neutrality approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

The rules treat the Internet as a public utility and forbid companies and other entities from paying Internet service providers to speed the transmission of their content.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has hardened his stance on regulations since 2010 amid pressure from President Obama, Cuban, who has several major media investments, told CNBC.

"Chairman Wheeler had one position [then] that is different than now."

This sets a dangerous regulatory precedent, Cuban said.

"Does anyone really think that it's going to be different for future chairmen, with future presidents, with a future makeup of the FCC?" he asked rhetorically.

"There's going to be a whack-a-mole environment going forward on our Internet. . . . If you're like me and you think the best is yet to come [for the Internet], you don't want the FCC involved because of all the uncertainty."

Many congressional Republicans agree with Cuban. NPR.com compiled the reactions offered by several of them.

• Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas, tweeted a link to a YouTube video satirizing President Obama. The video shows Obama, obscured by pixels, saying "this is the same government that brought you the online success of healthcare.gov, and we know we can do the same thing for you onliiii . . ." The video then fades out in a haze.
• Oregon Rep. Greg Walden said the FCC's vote "threatens to throw all of this [the modern information economy] out the window, and to generate significant uncertainty that will impact the industry, its investors and ultimately its consumers."
• Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn said the new rules would lead to new taxes. The Internet "is not broken, and it does not need the FCC's help in order to be effective," she said.

Related Stories:

• AEI's Hurwitz: Expected Net Neutrality Rules 'Clearly Exceed FCC's Authority'
• The Internet 'Is Not Broken': GOP Opposes Net Neutrality Rules