Federal court ends FCC’s net neutrality scheme
A federal appeals court on Thursday terminated the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) long-standing attempt to implement stricter regulations over the internet.
Net neutrality regulations require internet service providers to facilitate access to all websites and content providers at uniform rates and speeds, irrespective of their size or the nature of their content. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said that the FCC does not possess the authority to regulate wireless and home-broadband services under the regulatory framework that has historically applied to telephone services, according to The Wall Street Journal,
The decision follows the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Chevron deference earlier this summer, a legal precedent that had allowed federal agencies broader discretion in interpreting ambiguous statutory language. The court’s rejection effectively strips the FCC of its expanded interpretative reach.
Reacting to the court’s verdict, outgoing Democratic FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that the demand for “fast, open, and fair” internet service persists among consumers. Rosenworcel, as the WSJ reported, said Congress should enshrine these principles into federal legislation. She also said the FCC’s regulatory endeavors have reached an impasse.
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This policy, as the WSJ said, quickly became a contentious battleground. Telecommunication giants have opposed what they say is the potential for increasingly restrictive regulations. They said such efforts are a gateway to heavier-handed government control.
Following the repeal of the Obama-era net neutrality rules in 2017, a series of legal challenges ensued, culminating in Thursday’s definitive court decision, the WSJ reported. Rosenworcel had initiated a fresh rule-making process in 2023, advocating for tougher regulations that she said would safeguard consumers and enhance federal cybersecurity measures.
Industry representatives contested Rosenworcel’s new regulations, leading to the Sixth Circuit Court’s preemptive block on their implementation during the judicial review process, WSJ said. Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who will soon assume the role of chair of the telecom regulator, applauded the court’s decision.
Carr has criticized the attempts to reinstate previously repealed regulations as futile and resource-draining. Carr derided the Biden administration’s reliance on what he termed the “Chicken Little” strategy, which painted a doomsday scenario about the internet’s functionality without net neutrality.
“The American people have now seen through that ruse,” Carr said.
The court decision comes after allegations that Congress wrongly transferred its powers to the FCC. The FCC, together with a group of interest organizations and telecommunication firms, is challenging a lower court’s decision that deemed this delegation unconstitutional.
“It threatens to undermine universal service programs that, for many decades, have served to promote the availability and affordability of critical communications services for millions of rural and low-income consumers, rural health care facilities, and schools and libraries across the nation,” Consumers’ Research group said in a statement.
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