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A two-tiered Internet?

As part of their mission, libraries offer users unhindered access to a diversity of Internet content that is free from commercial bias. But after the FCC in 2005 repealed its longstanding principles of “network neutrality” — which permit everyone to view or post lawful content, offer equal access at an equal price and allow users to choose their preferred connections — telecom and cable companies have been scrambling to create a two-tiered Internet in which content providers would pay a higher price for faster, unrestricted connections. In 2006, the ALA Council passed a resolution affirming the right of all users to “equal and equitable Internet access,” even as Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation guaranteeing net neutrality.

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