Court blocks FCC’s net neutrality rules from going into effect again

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday again blocked Obama-era net neutrality and broadband rules from going into effect, which the Federal Communications Commission voted to restore in April.

The rules, which would reclassify the internet as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, would also provide the FCC regulatory authority over broadband internet service providers. The court issued a temporary stay on the rules taking effect, which was set to expire on Aug. 5.

In its Thursday decision, the court stated that internet service providers are “likely to succeed” in their challenge to the rules on the claim that the FCC overstepped its authority, adding that congressional authorization is needed.

The net neutrality rules would require internet service providers to treat all internet users equally and prohibit providers from slowing or blocking web traffic to certain websites. First created under former President Barack Obama and adopted in 2015, the rules would also prohibit providers from preferential treatment to certain users with improved speed.

In 2017, they were repealed by the FCC under former President Donald Trump. The Biden administration has previously voiced its support for restoring the net neutrality rules, and in July of 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the rules.

“The American public wants an internet that is fast, open, and fair. Today’s decision by the Sixth Circuit is a setback but we will not give up the fight for net neutrality,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement Thursday.

“I cannot overstate how strongly I disagree with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to stall our net neutrality rules, the foundation of a free and open internet. Prior precedent, including the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit, stood with the Agency in supporting our ability to protect consumers,” FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said in a statement on Friday. “The voices of the American people are clear—they want to control their choices online. I agree and will continue the fight because this decision jeopardizes that freedom. Americans deserve the best Internet possible.”

Meanwhile, critics of net neutrality such as Brendan Carr, the FCC’s senior Republican commissioner, claim that restoring the rules has been “a needless waste of time and resources and a distraction from the real work that remains.”

The appeals court requested the case be scheduled for oral arguments at the end of October.