March 2019 179 C&RL News

Larra Clark is deputy director, public policy, email: 
lclark@alawash.org, and Ellen Satterwhite is information 
technology policy fellow at ALA’s Washington Office, 
email: esatterwhite@glenechogroup.com

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n eLarra Clark and Ellen Satterwhite

New year, new ac tion on net 
neutrality
It is not surprising that some reporters 
covering the February 1 oral arguments 
for Mozilla v. Federal Communications 
Commission before the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit referenced 
Groundhog Day. Not only was the large 
rodent scheduled for his spring forecast 
the following day, but the same court 
has ruled multiple times on this issue 
over the past decade—bringing to mind 
the endless loop Bill Murray finds him-
self in the movie Groundhog Day.

The question before the court this 
year is whether in December 2015 the 
FCC was arbitrary and capricious in re-
versing its 2015 order, which included 
rules against blocking, throttling, or paid 
prioritization of Internet access. ALA, 
ACRL, and 18 other amici from higher 
education organizations filed in support 
of Mozilla in the case underscoring that 
the FCC’s December 2017 Order “imperils 
the [I]nternet’s continued operation as a 
reliable platform for research, learning, 
and information sharing.” The amicus 
brief details the significant burden the 
2017 order will impose on universities, 
libraries, and the communities we serve 
if not vacated.

The last time this court took up net 
neutrality, it affirmed the FCC’s 2015 or-
der. It is expected to rule on the current 
case by summer 2019.

It’s unlikely the D.C. Circuit court will 
have the final word, though. In addition to 

a likely Supreme Court appeal, members 
of Congress have signaled interest in a 
legislative solution. The House Commu-
nications Subcommittee was scheduled to 
hold its first net neutrality hearing February 
7, and ALA planned to file a statement into 
the record. Entitled “Preserving an Open 
Internet for Consumers, Small Businesses, 
and Free Speech,” Democratic leaders said 
the hearing will focus on the effects of the 
2017 rollback in net neutrality protections.

Researchers at Northeastern University 
in Boston found that wireless providers 
were throttling video streaming. In a 
statement last fall, David Choffnes, assis-
tant professor of computer and informa-
tion science at Northeaster, pointed out, 
“There’s no evidence that any of these 
policies are only happening during net-
work overload. They’re throttling video 
traffic even when the network doesn’t 
need to. It happens 24/7, and in every 
region where we have tests.”

In addition to federal action, some 
state lawmakers have argued they have 
an obligation to protect consumers with 
net neutrality rules and that local govern-
ments can approve or deny requests by 
telecommunications providers to oper-
ate in their states. Less than six months 
after the 2017 FCC vote, 36 states had 
proposed or passed a resolution, bill, or 
executive order supporting net neutral-
ity protections. But whether these state 
laws are enforceable is an open question.

Perhaps only one thing is certain—
that we will continue to see net neutrality 
in the news, and ALA will continue its 
long advocacy for strong, enforceable 
net neutrality protections that empower 
online participation and free expression 
for all. Stay tuned in coming months. 

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