Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the FCC’s “net neutrality” rule published last year. The rule will prohibit ISPs from engaging in throttling, blocking, and most importantly, paid prioritization—also known as a “fast lane” for those who can afford it and a “slow lane” for everyone else. This decision confirms that the next Netflix, Vimeo, or Kickstarter—or platforms and systems we have yet to imagine—will not have to worry about being relegated to the “slow lane” on the internet. It is perhaps the single most important policy component to a level playing field online.
Back in 2014, IPAT Clinic interns Matthew C. Germer, Kyle Reynolds, and Alex Jassy Selman urged the FCC to adopt a strong net neutrality rule in a comment the Clinic filed on behalf of the International Documentary Association, Film Independent, the National Alliance For Media Arts & Culture, Independent Filmmaker Project, Kartemquin Educational Films, Women In Film, Women In Film & Video, and Doe Mayer. Today we celebrate the Court’s recognition of the importance of net neutrality to both our freedom of speech and the future of our media ecosystem.
h/t to flickr user backbone_campaign for the photo.