Net Neutrality: ARL, ALA, ACRL, and COSLA File Amicus Brief in Support of FCC’s Open Internet Order (US Telecom, et. al, v. FCC and U.S.A.)

From a Blog Post/Overview of the Recently Filed Amicus Brief by Krista Cox at the Association of Research Libraries:

On September 21, 2015, the ARL joined the American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, and Chief Officers of State Library Agencies in filing an amicus brief [United States Telecom Association, et. al, v. Federal Communications Commission and the United States of America] in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit supporting the FCC’s Open Internet Order establishing rules protecting net neutrality
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The brief points out that public libraries provide broadband Internet access to their patrons, including to the roughly one-third of the population without Internet access at home.
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The brief then points to several areas where libraries serve as creators and providers of content and information, often serving as edge providers. These examples include the National Library of Medicine (NLM) which provides trillions of bytes of data each day to users; the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) digitization of content from the 1939 New York World’s Fair and creation of a free app that is used in New York public K-12 schools; Ann Arbor Public library’s production and sharing of podcasts and online interviews; the Iowa City Public Library’s digital collection of local music; the Florida Memory Project which provides free online access to archival resources from the State Library and Archives of Florida; the content created by library patrons, such as at the music created by teens at the Albany Public Library; and the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) creation of a portal that delivers millions of materials from archives, libraries, museums and cultural heritage institutions to students, teachers, scholars and the public.

Read the Complete Overview (via ARL Policy Notes)
Direct to Full Text Brief (34 pages; PDF)
Reports and Documents

• Appeals Court to Hear Arguments Over FCC’s Net-Neutrality Rules (via WSJ; August 3, 2015)

• U.S. court to hear lawsuits over ‘net neutrality’ in December (via Reuters; August 3, 2015)

• All Briefs and and Others Materials (Both Sides) Can Be Accessed via the FCC’s Electronic Documents System (EDOCS)

• Also Available: Brief Filed by US Telecom ||| Several Amicus Briefs Filed in Support of US Telecom Position

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