U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down FCC's Net Neutrality Push
Jan 14, 2014, 10:34 AM by Eric M. Zeman
An appeals court today ruled that the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules are invalid. The FCC pushed through rules several years ago that force broadband companies to treat all internet traffic equally. It means companies such as Verizon Communications, the appellant in this case, cannot favor some traffic over others. The U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., said the FCC doesn't have the authority to issue such mandates. The order reads, in part, "Even though the Commission has general authority to regulate in this arena, it may not impose requirements that contravene express statutory mandates. Given that the Commission has chosen to classify broadband providers in a manner that exempts them from treatment as common carriers, the Communications Act expressly prohibits the Commission from nonetheless regulating them as such. Because the Commission has failed to establish that the anti-discrimination and anti-blocking rules do not impose per se common carrier obligations, we vacate those portions of the Open Internet Order." The ruling could have a large effect on how broadband companies, both wired and wireless, run the internet.
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Comments
If Congress were competent
But as it stands, government is incompetent at every level. And the courts have no qualms about legislating from the bench when it serves the interests of some powerful lobby and helps to erode the power of the Constitution. Their reservations about overstepping their bounds only come into play when Americans are fighting for their rights.
Ugh.
(continues)
This is what happens...
Seriously though, isn't there a concept of "you're not qualified to make these decisions" in the courts somewhere?
What's next, network engineers presiding over court cases? lol.
Aaaaughh
Here be danger; that the broadband service provider can selectively provide service. All the facebooking and youtube speed you could want - wait, you want to use wikipedia or share music with peers? Non-commercial purposes? 50kbps for you.
