WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules on Thursday, ending a nearly two-decade effort to regulate broadband internet providers as utilities.
The court ruled that the FCC lacked authority to reinstate regulations preventing broadband providers from slowing or blocking access to internet content. This decision effectively ends a key tech policy of the Biden administration that had received strong support from consumer advocacy groups and companies like Google, while facing opposition from telecom giants such as Comcast and AT&T, the New York Times reported.
“Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “With this decision, it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality and put open internet principles in federal law.”
The three-judge panel cited the Supreme Court’s June decision in Loper Bright, which overturned a 1984 legal precedent granting deference to government agencies on regulatory matters. “Applying Loper Bright means we can end the F.C.C.’s vacillations,” the court wrote.
The FCC had voted in April to restore net neutrality regulations aimed at increasing government oversight of broadband providers and ensuring consumer access to an open internet. These rules were originally introduced during the Obama administration to prevent providers such as Verizon and Comcast from blocking or slowing services like Netflix or YouTube.
The rules were repealed during Donald J. Trump’s presidency and have since remained a contentious partisan issue, drawing battle lines between tech companies and broadband providers, the New York Times reported.
