Court Rules Internet Is A Utility, Upholds Net Neutrality Rules
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that internet providers must abide by the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality regulations, which prohibit them from blocking or slowing broadband connections, and providing special access through paid fast lanes.
The White House-backed net neutrality rules issued last year came with a promise to treat all internet access equally. But those rules, and how the FCC justified them, drew major criticism from Republicans and broadband companies.
Tuesday’s 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit temporarily rebuffed those criticisms, upholding the FCC’s authority to issue its net neutrality regulations and the agency’s controversial decision to reclassify the internet as a telecommunication service in order to do so. The ruling, however, does not prevent future legal challenges.
With its suit filed last year, the U.S. Telecom Association, which represents internet-providing companies such as Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T, sought to undo the net neutrality rules that give the FCC power to regulate the companies’ broadband services as strictly as it does telephone services — that is, like a basic utility rather than a perk.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler swatted back at that attempt following Tuesday’s ruling in a statement:
Today’s ruling is a victory for consumers and innovators who deserve unfettered access to the entire web, and it ensures the internet remains a platform for unparalleled innovation, free expression and economic growth. After a decade of debate and legal battles, today’s ruling affirms the Commission’s ability to enforce the strongest possible internet protection…that will ensure the internet remains open, now and in the future.
Republican Commisioner Ajit Pai, a longtime opponent of the rules, disagreed with the court’s decision saying, “These regulations are unlawful, and I hope that the parties challenging them will
continue the legal fight.”
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/14/3788304/net-neutrality-beats-appeal/
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