[AISLE-Share] Update on Net Neutrality -- Senate Stands Up for Net Neutrality

[Email list for the Association of Illinois School Library Educators]

Posted on District Dispatch May 16, 2018--

Today, the Senate voted 52-47 to pass legislation-- under the Congressional
Review Act (CRA) to block the FCC’s troubling December 2017 rollback of its
2015 net neutrality rules. We’re excited to see the Senate following the
will of the people and voting to keep the internet free and open. The
passage of this resolution shows that this is an important issue for all
Americans–including the thousands of members of the library community who
have weighed in and asked lawmakers to step up for net neutrality.

The vote comes on the heels of news late Friday that the repeal of the 2015
net neutrality rules will officially take effect
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet/fcc-says-net-neutrality-rules-will-end-in-june-idUSKBN1IB1UN>June
11. Though the FCC’s vote took place in December 2017, there were several
procedural moves required for the rules to become law, including publishing
in the Federal Register, the government record of agency regulations.
Following a 30-day comment period, the order takes effect. This has been a
source of confusion
<https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/02/the-fccs-net-neutrality-rules-will-officially-expire-in-late-april/>because
the FCC initially published parts of the order in the Federal Register in
February; but not the substance. Approval from the Office of Management and
Budget was needed before substantive changes could take effect. The
February filing started the clock, however, for challenges in federal court
and for members of Congress to pursue action through the Congressional
Review Act.

With the passage of the CRA in the Senate, action moves to the House, which
must also vote on the CRA. We hope the House will follow the Senate’s lead
and pass this resolution quickly to undo the FCC’s reckless and unpopular
action. Already, 160 members of the House have signed on, and we expect
more to follow in the coming days. *You can help by continuing to tell your
members of Congress (or thanking them!) that net neutrality is critical to
the modern library and our communities through our **action alert*
<http://cqrcengage.com/ala/app/write-a-letter?3&engagementId=443593>*.*

As ALA President Jim Neal put it, “ALA is extremely pleased the
Senate–including Democrats and Republicans–voted 52-47 to support the CRA,
and we hope their colleagues in the House will do the same. Strong net
neutrality protections are good for America’s libraries, good for our
nation and, according to polls, what voters of all political persuasions
support. ALA members will continue to reinforce that message for
decision-makers at all levels, for as long as it takes to preserve the open
internet.”

On Monday, ALA participated with other leading library and educational
organizations to reiterate our support
<https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-05-14-schools-can-t-police-providers-education-leaders-call-for-restoration-of-net-neutrality-rules>for
the strong, enforceable net neutrality rules passed in 2015 and to urge the
Senate to pass the CRA. On the press call, Deputy Director of Public Policy
Larra Clark reiterated the community’s belief that, “Strong, enforceable
network neutrality protections are essential to ensuring open and
nondiscriminatory access to information for all, and it is especially
important that commercial Internet Service Providers are not able to
control or manipulate the content of these communications.”

The CRA is the quickest way for Congress to uphold the will of the people,
protect our institutions’ access to an open internet and preserve strong
net neutrality protections.

Lou Ann Jacobs, AISLE Legislation Chair

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