traffic that they believe competes with their own services and content. Thus, the net neutrality debate centers on whether it is time to enact legal principles to protect the open Internet. While network operators assert that there is no need to enact such regulation or law, the evidence indicates that the threats against maintaining a free and open Internet continue to grow. Ensuring a free and open Internet is critical to research libraries and the patrons they serve because the ability to access, produce, and distribute content and services over the Internet is central to the mission of libraries. The preservation of a free and open Internet will be essential for libraries to achieve their goal of offering innovative services and providing their patrons with effective access to information over the Internet in support of research, teaching, and learning. ARL, in partnership with the American Library Association, EDUCAUSE, and the Open Internet Coalition, has been actively supportive of net neutrality by filing numerous comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), attending meetings with FCC staff, and tracking congressional action on this issue. Network Neutrality: A Principle to Preserve the Free and Open Internet A simple way to understand the importance of net neutrality is to consider how the communications providers might function in its absence. One need not look far but only to another communications market: cable television. In the cable television market, network providers determine which content is aired, how much to charge consumers for channel options, and the cost of providing a show on their network. The ability of Internet service providers (ISPs) to serve as similar “gatekeepers” of the open Internet—determining when and at what price content is shared over the Internet—will threaten the unique benefit that the Internet provides: a free and accessible platform for all to speak and contribute. Net neutrality was a founding principle of the Internet’s original architecture. Under the initial business model of the Internet, network owners charged consumers for Internet access but could not discriminate based on the type of content or service transmitted by end users. Thus, it is said that innovation occurs at the edges of the Internet by end users. This open structure also promotes consumer choice. For example, the creators of Skype, Google, and RLI 273 9 The Importance of Net Neutrality to Research Libraries in the Digital Age ( C O N T I N U E D ) DECEMBER 2010 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A BIMONTHLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC Ensuring a free and open Internet is critical to research libraries and the patrons they serve because the ability to access, produce, and distribute content and services over the Internet is central to the mission of libraries.
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