Promoting digital literacy and inclusion in a post net neutrality world

Few would argue that it's not an important role for 21st century libraries to promote digital literacy and inclusion. It's hard to see how libraries can do this successfully in a world of data caps and tiered access.

As you might imagine, there's a lot of Internet coverage of the implications of the net neutrality decision. I thought I'd include some links to news and opinion sources about the decision so we can all better understand what it might mean for ourselves and our communities.

• DC Net Neutrality Ruling - full text of the decision from Scribd.com
• ALA
• Some background information on the topic: Network Neutrality
• The official ALA statement on the decision: ALA “extremely disappointed” with net neutrality ruling
• ALA President Barbara Stripling's editorial on Wired: Why Net Neutrality’s Demise Hurts the Poor Most
• Here's a quick and dirty explanation of net neutrality and the court decision from the New York Times: The Nuts and Bolts of Network Neutrality
• Here's a more detailed New York Times account of the decision: Rebuffing F.C.C. in ‘Net Neutrality’ Case, Court Allows Streaming Deals
• Will end of net neutrality rules impact future innovation? - Debate on PBS NewsHour - January 15, 2014
• CNET: Why you should care about Net neutrality (FAQ)
• While I generally don't go to Buzzfeed.com for serious news coverage, and they might be a bit alarmist in this piece, but I thought they did do a nice job of looking at potential consequences of the abandonment of net neutrality: Welcome To The Net Neutrality Nightmare Scenario
• Huffington Post gives 5 reasons it's important and a video clip on the subject: Why You Should Be Freaking Out About The End Of Net Neutrality

Personally, I'm concerned because I'm a cord cutter whose Internet access comes from a cable provider. I'm well aware that their main business comes from selling cable content. I've decided I don't want their packages and tiers of cable tv content, I'd prefer to subscribe to content from independent providers like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon. The end of net neutrality is probably not ever going to be a problem for them because I presume they can afford to pay for better access for their content and/or they'll pass along the increased costs to me. But what about smaller independent Internet content providers like TWiT or Fandor or Vimeo (where our MSL videos are housed). Will I continue to have access to their content or will they be throttled? Will cable providers throttle all competitors' content unless I become a cable subscriber?

And what does this mean for libraries? Will we be forced to decide on which tier we can afford to provide to our communities?

I'm interested to hear your views on the topic as well as ideas for how to protect access to content from other than big providers.

One thing you can do is contact the FCC and share your views. Send an e-mail at the FCC’s website. Or tweet @TomWheelerFCC.