Appeals court largely upholds FCC’s net neutrality repeal
A federal appeals court on Tuesday delivered a mixed ruling for net neutrality supporters and opponents alike, allowing the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2017 repeal to stand but striking down a key provision blocking states from implementing their own open internet rules.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals also send the repeal order back to the FCC, ordering the agency to revise it to take into consideration other issues, like the effect that it will have on public safety, broadband subsidies and the regulation of cable pole attachments.
What it means for the FCC and industry: The repeal, which went into effect last year, was a major victory for the industry, but despite their win in court on Tuesday, they now face the possibility of having to navigate a slew of differing state laws governing internet providers’ handling of web traffic.
Still, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican who engineered the repeal, declared Tuesday’s ruling a win for his agency.
“Today’s decision is a victory for consumers, broadband deployment, and the free and open Internet,” Pai said in a statement.
“The court affirmed the FCC’s decision to repeal 1930s utility-style regulation of the Internet imposed by the prior Administration,” he added. “The court also upheld our robust transparency rule so that consumers can be fully informed about their online options.”
Net neutrality advocates aren’t backing down: “Our fight to preserve net neutrality as a fundamental digital right is far from over,” Amy Keating, the chief legal officer for Mozilla, said in a statement. “We are encouraged to see the Court free states to enact net neutrality rules that protect consumers. We are considering our next steps in the litigation around the FCC’s 2018 Order, and are grateful to be a part of a broad community pressing for net neutrality protections in courts, states and in Congress.”
Inside the ruling: The three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Tuesday that they had found the challengers’ arguments to be largely unpersuasive.
However, the judges delivered a blow to the FCC by ruling it had exceeded its legal authority by seeking to block states from passing their own net neutrality rules, as many did over the past year and a half in a nationwide backlash to the FCC’s repeal.
A senior FCC official said on a call with reporters Tuesday that the agency had not decided whether it would appeal the preemption portion of the decision.
