'Justice, and Only Justice, You Shall Pursue': Network Neutrality, the First Amendment and John Rawls' Theory of Justice

52 Pages Posted: 19 Sep 2007 Last revised: 24 Sep 2018

See all articles by Amit M. Schejter

Amit M. Schejter

Pennsylvania State University; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Moran Yemini

Center for Cyber, Law and Policy, University of Haifa; Information Society Project, Yale Law School; Digital Life Initiative, Cornell Tech

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

Analyzing policies that guided the regulation of electronic communication technologies over their relatively short history, allows to identify a pattern by which these technologies were viewed through a metaphor of scarcity, which called for solutions based on a theory of utility, maximizing the common national good at the expense of some personal freedoms. Technologies of the 21st century - digital broadcasting, wireless-mobile telephony and above all the global technology of the Internet - make possible the introduction of a new metaphor, one of abundance, and as such require a new theory of regulation in the public interest, with a wider, global, public in mind. Theories of utility led to policies in which the few and fortunate were awarded longer and longer-term control of the little available, having their interests guarded through the control of the voices of the many (in the name of the "common good"). The opportunity provided by the promise of abundance, has advanced so far the development of similar policies; however this study argues that a new theory is required, which will allow for the wealth of channels and resources to offer an opportunity for an egalitarian and participatory form of their utilization by employing a theory based on John Rawls' theory of distributive justice, which works to redress past harms, while proposing a more equitable distribution of the new available resources, and in a global setting. The policy debate surrounding "network neutrality" serves as the central case study for the promotion of such a theory.

Keywords: Network Neutrality, John Rawls, Telecommunication Policy

JEL Classification: K39, L49, L59

Suggested Citation

Schejter, Amit M. and Schejter, Amit M. and Yemini, Moran, 'Justice, and Only Justice, You Shall Pursue': Network Neutrality, the First Amendment and John Rawls' Theory of Justice (2007). 14 Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review 137 (2007), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1008901

Amit M. Schejter (Contact Author)

Pennsylvania State University ( email )

106 Carnegie
College of Communications
University Park, PA 16802
United States
814-865-3717 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.personal.psu.edu/ams37/

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev ( email )

Beer--Sheva, 84105
Israel

Moran Yemini

Center for Cyber, Law and Policy, University of Haifa ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

Information Society Project, Yale Law School ( email )

Digital Life Initiative, Cornell Tech

111 8th Avenue #302
New York, NY 10011
United States

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