Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    College Advising
    Serving Higher Ed
    Chronicle Festival 2025
Sign In
Wired Campus circle logo

Wired Campus

The latest on tech and education.

Ruling Could Drive FCC Forward on Net Neutrality

By Megan O’Neil January 17, 2014

A court ruling this week that seemed on its face to be a defeat for advocates of net neutrality might actually include a road map for how to ensure equitable access for users, according to legal experts and open-Internet advocates.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

A court ruling this week that seemed on its face to be a defeat for advocates of net neutrality might actually include a road map for how to ensure equitable access for users, according to legal experts and open-Internet advocates.

The 2-to-1 ruling, handed down on Tuesday by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., allows Internet-service providers to create tiered pricing for certain types of online traffic. It’s the latest turn in a years-long battle over the Federal Communications Commission’s net-neutrality rules, adopted in 2010, which require Internet-service providers to treat all Internet traffic equally and bar them from practices like blocking access to certain websites or applications.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out the antiblocking and antidiscrimination rules, saying the FCC could not regulate Internet-service providers in the same way it regulates telephone companies because it had previously chosen to classify the Internet companies as providing information services, not telecommunications services.

ADVERTISEMENT

Still, the court affirmed the FCC’s ability to regulate Internet-service providers in other ways. In its ruling, it “laid out a path the commission can follow, which is to reclassify high-speed Internet access as a common carriage or utility service,” said Susan Crawford, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. “If the commission does this, its legal authority to speak to high-speed Internet-access providers will be clear. If it doesn’t, we risk having the central infrastructure of the 21st century left to a failed market with little oversight or competition.”

The FCC said it was considering all options, including an appeal.

The principle of “net neutrality,” or giving equal treatment to flows of information on the web, was coined by Tim Wu, a Columbia Law School professor. Advocates say the FCC’s rules safeguard against the erosion of high-speed Internet services for small players, and ensure that content produced by corporations such as entertainment studios doesn’t take priority over other kinds of content.

Internet-service providers like Verizon, which brought the lawsuit against the FCC, argue that they need to charge for high-speed data-traffic lanes in order to pay for the billions of dollars in infrastructure necessary to maintain and expand Internet access.

How the FCC proceeds has broad economic and societal implications. Under Tuesday’s ruling, individuals, companies, and institutions unable to pay for expedited Internet services could be reduced to second-class citizens in the information age, some working on the issue said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It is going to be potentially a race to the bottom, where those who can afford to pay to get priority of access get more eyeballs—more readers and viewers—and public institutions that don’t have those kind of financial resources are going to be left behind,” said John Windhausen, president of Telepoly Consulting, which specializes in broadband-communications policy and works with nonprofit institutions.

In an opinion piece for Wired, Barbara Stripling, president of the American Library Association, described an equal-access Internet as essential for educational achievement, freedom of speech, and economic growth.

“High-quality Internet access shouldn’t be restricted to those who can ‘pay to play,’” she wrote. “Unfortunately, by allowing Internet-service providers to preferentially charge and premium price access, that’s what will happen, and public libraries and the communities we serve will be the ones to lose.”

Prudence S. Adler, associate executive director for federal relations and information policy at the Association of Research Libraries, said she and her colleagues would be watching the FCC’s next move closely.

“A lot of the campus networks are private networks, but when the majority of students may be living off campus, or we have people on MOOCs from around the world, we can’t have different tiers of access to resources,” Ms. Adler said. “Research libraries spend an enormous amount of money licensing content for our campus community.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The library associations are two of many groups active in the fight to uphold the net-neutrality rules. Legislation backed by groups such as Educause and Internet2 and introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and 2007 would have made the FCC’s net-neutrality principles federal law. In 2008 scaled-back legislation was introduced that would have required the FCC to take an active role in ensuring providers treat all websites and their content equally. All three bills stalled in committee.

The Berkman Center’s Ms. Crawford, who noted that one of the most promising uses of high-capacity networks lies in higher education, said that Internet-service providers had intentionally created confusion around the issue.

“One of their key arguments is there is plenty of competition for high-speed Internet access in America, and that is simply not true,” Ms. Crawford said. “When it comes to very-high-capacity connections, the kinds that educational institutions are interested in, the vast majority of Americans have just one choice, and that is their local cable monopoly.”

Still, with a good statute already in place, there is now a way forward, she said. “I am actually quite optimistic.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
ONell_Megan.jpg
About the Author
Megan O’Neil
Megan reported on foundations, leadership and management, and digital fundraising for The Chronicle of Philanthropy. She also led a small reporting team and helped shape daily news coverage.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

WASHINGTON, DISTICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES - 2025/04/14: A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator holding a sign with Release Mahmud Khalil written on it, stands in front of the ICE building while joining in a protest. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally in front of the ICE building, demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil and all those targeted for speaking out against genocide in Palestine. Protesters demand an end to U.S. complicity and solidarity with the resistance in Gaza. (Photo by Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Campus Activism
An Anonymous Group’s List of Purported Critics of Israel Helped Steer a U.S. Crackdown on Student Activists
ManganGMU-0708 B.jpg
Leadership
The Trump Administration Appears to Have Another College President in Its Crosshairs
Joan Wong for The Chronicle
Productivity Measures
A 4/4 Teaching Load Becomes Law at Most of Wisconsin’s Public Universities
Illustration showing a letter from the South Carolina Secretary of State over a photo of the Bob Jones University campus.
Missing Files
Apparent Paperwork Error Threatened Bob Jones U.'s Legal Standing in South Carolina

From The Review

John T. Scopes as he stood before the judges stand and was sentenced, July 2025.
The Review | Essay
100 Years Ago, the Scopes Monkey Trial Discovered Academic Freedom
By John K. Wilson
Vector illustration of a suited man with a pair of scissors for a tie and an American flag button on his lapel.
The Review | Opinion
A Damaging Endowment Tax Crosses the Finish Line
By Phillip Levine
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan keeps his emotions in check during a news conference, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Charlottesville. Va. Authorities say three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia and a student is in custody. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The Review | Opinion
Jim Ryan’s Resignation Is a Warning
By Robert Zaretsky

Upcoming Events

07-31-Turbulent-Workday_assets v2_Plain.png
Keeping Your Institution Moving Forward in Turbulent Times
Ascendium_Housing_Plain.png
What It Really Takes to Serve Students’ Basic Needs: Housing
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin