Federal Court Strangles Net Neutrality Rules Biden’s Way Out the Door

An appeals court has struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s latest net neutrality rules, paving the way for Internet service providers to arbitrarily restrict web access for certain customers and services.

The ruling is the latest development in a decade-long battle in Washington over the FCC’s ability to regulate telecom companies. It’s also a sign of the declining power of executive branch agencies to interpret the laws they enforce thanks to a 2024 Supreme Court decision, Looper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The case overturned previous court precedent, known as Chevron deference, which gave agencies latitude to interpret vague laws.

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under former President Barack Obama adopted rules classifying broadband Internet service providers as telecommunications services, prohibiting them from arbitrarily blocking and restricting Internet users or prioritizing websites that pay for preferential treatment.

Under Donald Trump’s first administration in 2018, the FCC rescinded those net neutrality rules. Then in 2024, under Joe Biden, the FCC voted to restore it.

A coalition of telecom industry groups sued to block the rules again, leading to the recent ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The jury consists of three judges books For the first 15 years after Congress passed the Communications Act of 1996, the FCC oversaw the Internet with a “light touch” and classified ISPs as “information services,” limiting the extent to which the agency could regulate them.

That changed in 2015 when the agency interpreted ISPs as telecommunications services, a different category under a 1996 law that allowed for stricter regulations.

In an earlier series of cases challenging net neutrality rules, federal courts upheld the FCC’s decision to classify Internet service providers as telecommunications services, citing the 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Which gave executive power. Agencies have the authority to interpret ambiguities in laws passed by Congress.

But now that the current Supreme Court has invalidated Chevron’s so-called deference, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the FCC does not have the authority to decide how to classify ISPs.

In response to the ruling, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called on Congress to take action.

“Consumers across the country have told us time and time again that they want a fast, open, and fair Internet,” she said in a statement. “With this decision, it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take responsibility for net neutrality, and put open internet principles into federal law.”