Groups file appeal over net neutrality ruling

A number of web companies and advocacy groups on Friday filed an appeal urging a federal court to rehear a decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) repeal of the Obama-era net neutrality rules.

They are requesting that the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals review the decision from a three-judge panel in October.

Mozilla, which was the original lead in the lawsuit against the FCC, said the ruling conflicts with both a Supreme Court decision and a prior ruling from the D.C. court. Their petition says the judges misinterpreted legal precedent over the agency’s regulatory powers.

The petition was filed by Mozilla along with Etsy, Vimeo, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee.

The 2015 net neutrality rules classified Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as common carriers, similar to telecommunications providers, who are not allowed to discriminate against traffic.

The FCC under Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai repealed those rules and also barred states from passing their own net neutrality regulations.

Under the FCC’s current classification, there are no restrictions on ISPs against blocking or throttling web traffic, though the FCC has argued that most discriminatory behavior would be blocked by existing antitrust and consumer protection law.