Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Last year, the FCC voted to reinstate net neutrality rules that prevented broadband providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic to certain websites and speeding up access to others.
- A federal appeals court has ruled that the FCC does not have the authority to restore certain net neutrality rules.
- The federal court pointed to a Supreme Court decision from last year as its reason for the ruling.
In a blow against net neutrality, a federal appeals court has struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) attempt to restore certain open internet measures. The court ruled that the FCC doesn’t have the authority to reinstate the rules it wanted to revive.
Last year, the FCC voted to bring back the net neutrality rule which barred broadband providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic to some websites while speeding up traffic to those who pay more. The rule was first approved in 2015 under President Barack Obama, but was later repealed in 2017 under President Donald Trump. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order urging the FCC to reinstate the rule.
On Thursday, the Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals stopped the measure in its tracks, stating that the FCC doesn’t have the power to restore this rule. The court points to a Supreme Court decision made in the middle of last year that overturned the Chevron deference, a legal doctrine that instructed judges to differ to agencies where the law is ambiguous. As a result, judges are now allowed to use their own interpretation of the law in these cases.
Those who are for net neutrality argue these rules are needed to ensure a fair and open internet. Meanwhile, detractors believe that the rules are an example of government overreach.
Brendan Carr, who President Trump has tapped to become the new FCC chair, has long been a critic of net neutrality. “While the work to unwind the Biden Admin’s regulatory overreach will continue, this is a good win,” Carr said after the appeals court struck down the measure.
