Net Neutrality: A Fundamental Right in the Digital Constitution?

Has net neutrality been institutionalized as a fundamental right in the digital constitution? Empirical evidence shows that statutory embedding of net neutrality has recently been taking shape in certain jurisdictions. The unfolding of constitutional structures and processes--the next step to be expected according to the theory of societal constitutionalism--is still pending. What would the scope of protection of net neutrality be if institutionalized as a fundamental right? To answer this normative question, two theoretically challenging issues must be addressed as a preliminary: First, what should be the adequate conceptualization of the relationship between the social and the technological? The perspective adopted by this paper is a combination between science and technology studies scholarship and legal sociology literature. Second, as net neutrality involves relationships between private parties, the question is how fundamental rights should be conceived beyond state-centrism. Methodologically, the sociological reflection of fundamental rights as institutions of society will serve as a benchmark for evaluating future developments of constitutional legal doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]