"A report published Monday, ahead of the FCC's Thursday vote to repeal net neutrality, highlights the damage that repeal could have on local news.
The report, "Slowing Down The Presses: The Relationship Between Net Neutrality and Local News," comes out of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.
The repeal, which could create tolls for internet companies and tiers of access for consumers, is also expected to damage local news, which is both suffering at the legacy level and just emerging for new online publications, according to the report.
"Local news is valuable in its own right: It serves as a watchdog against corruption and incompetence, provides helpful information to people about their communities, and amplifies minority voices that might otherwise be silenced," the report begins with. "Small outlets are often technologically unsophisticated and struggle to adapt to a changing world; as such, local news providers also serve as a bellwether for the whole universe of websites and applications that are never going to be the “next big thing,” but that nonetheless enrich the lives of their communities of users.""
- Date Published:12/11/2017
- Original Publication:Poynter