The net neutrality debate has heated up with the recent proposals from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to govern the flow of information on the Internet. What is net neutrality? It is not easy to find a simple definition. The best one I have come across is from the organization Save the Internet (www.savetheinternet.com): “Net Neutrality simply means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from blocking, speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination.”
This debate is interesting because it calls into question the very nature of the Internet and there are so many powerful players on both sides of the issue. On one side you’ve got the big content providers like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Ebay, and Amazon. On the other side you have the big telecommunication providers like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and Time-Warner. With the recent vote by the FCC to implement rules that would “protect” the Internet and keep it neutral, politicians of all persuasions have joined the debate.
Libraries also have a dog in this hunt. Libraries have come to rely on the Internet to provide information resources for our patrons. Many information sources are only available on the Internet. The Internet has become such an important component of our work that the American Library Association (ALA) has come out with a position on net neutrality. For the ALA, net neutrality is critical to intellectual freedom, quoting from their position paper: “Network Neutrality (or "net" neutrality) is the concept of online non-discrimination. It is the principle that consumers/citizens should be free to get access to - or to provide - the Internet content and services they wish, and that consumer access should not be regulated based on the nature or source of that content or service. Information providers - which may be websites, online services, etc., and who may be affiliated with traditional commercial enterprises but who also may be individual citizens, libraries, schools, or nonprofit entities - should have essentially the same quality of access to distribute their offerings. "Pipe" owners (carriers) should not be allowed to charge some information providers more money for the same pipes, or establish exclusive deals that relegate everyone else (including small noncommercial or startup entities) to an Internet "slow lane." This principle should hold true even when a broadband provider is providing Internet carriage to a competitor.”
If you use the Internet, this is a debate of consequence and there are good arguments on both sides. If you want to learn more just type “net neutrality” into your search engine of choice and you will get mountains of information.
For now, I’m going to watch the debate over the FCC’s new ruling on net neutrality more closely. Of course as my teenage daughter likes to point out I have a boring life.
