The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today upheld so-called net neutrality regulations, essentially ruling that the Internet is a utility, “the principle that broadband providers must treat all internet traffic the same regardless of source”, as the court described it.
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But the cable and Internet providers, which contend the regulation limits their ability to invest and innovate, could appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court.
President Obama urged the FCC in November of 2014 to use its authority under Title II of the Communications Act to declare the internet service providers to be common carriers, in effect prohibiting cable and telecom internet providers from charging customers more to send their bytes through an internet “fast lane”.
While the 2-1 ruling is a victory for Google, Netflix and the like, opponents of net neutrality such as AT&T said they will appeal the decision.
A three-judge panel of a US Appeals court ruled in favor of the net neutrality regulations put in place by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) past year. That includes a new general conduct rule that allows the FCC to review complaints against ISPs on a case-by-case basis.
“This decision is an affront to hard-working Americans who rely on the internet for economic opportunity and access to critical communication services”, Daines said in a statement. Today’s victory is indeed a shared one, where a startup in the heartland of America can compete on equal footing with an established multinational corporation. Wireless broadband providers previously enjoyed some exemptions from net-neutrality rules based on an agency decision in the Bush administration to regulate them as a private mobile service.
A USA appeals court has upheld regulator the FCC’s Open Internet rules, sparking wildly opposing responses from the cable industry and the likes of Netflix. Service providers, including Comcast, AT&T and Verizon, say the rules threaten to undermine future investment in broadband infrastructure.
A US appeals court upheld the Obama administration’s landmark net neutrality rules on Tuesday, dealing a blow to internet service providers in a ruling that could ensure unfettered access to the web. FCC then came up with a new version of rules in 2015 which led to massive public debate over the topic of Net neutrality.
“In the meantime, the FCC now has a blank check to regulate the Internet however it sees fit”, he said.
However, in court today (14 June) in Washington DC, the federal judges decided in favour of upholding net neutrality.
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Tied Supreme Court cases defer to the lower court, meaning the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling would stand. The ruling upholds the Obama administration’s view that broadband internet should be classed as an essential utility (like electricity or water) rather than a luxury good, and as such should be subject to stringent regulation by the USA government to ensure fair delivery to all USA citizens.
