Rare News Desk
The Federal Communications Committee is not allowed to regulate certain parts of the Internet, a federal court ruled Tuesday, striking down certain sections of the FCC’s Open Internet rules.
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The ruling “vacat[es] the FCC’s anti-discrimination and anti-blocking policies, though it preserved disclosure requirements that Verizon opposed — in other words, carriers can make some traffic run faster or block other services, but they have to tell subscribers,” the Verge reports.
The case, Verizon v. FCC, challenged rules from 2010.
“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,” the judges wrote.
“The decision is blow to President Obama, who made net neutrality a campaign pledge in 2008, and erases one of the central accomplishments of former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who pushed the ‘Open Internet’ order,” The Hill reports.
Americans for Prosperity policy analyst Casey Given explained the pitfalls of net neutrality earlier.
For years net neutrality has been a government solution to a problem that simply doesn’t exist. The FCC issued the 2010 rule that Internet service providers (ISPs) cannot block or prioritize access to specific websites despite acknowledging that “the Internet as we know it” is already ‘open.’
That’s because customers value unfettered access to view, stream, and download data from the World Wide Web without barriers. If an ISP were to suddenly shake up this equation, many of their customers would revolt by switching providers. This “vote with your money” mentality is what drives the market’s creative forces, syncing the goods and services producers supply with what consumers demand. This ability to move from provider to provider also undercuts the FCC’s ability to claim that Verizon has some sort of market power that would justify a common carrier designation, which the FCC has thus far not asserted.
Free Press, a group dedicated to affordable Internet, was disappointed by the ruling, but said it was a step in the right direction. From their press release:
The compromised Open Internet Order struck down today left much to be desired, but it was a step toward maintaining Internet users’ freedom to go where they wanted, when they wanted, and communicate freely online. Now, just as Verizon promised it would in court, the biggest broadband providers will race to turn the open and vibrant Web into something that looks like cable TV. They’ll establish fast lanes for the few giant companies that can afford to pay exorbitant tolls and reserve the slow lanes for everyone else.
Still, the FCC vows to continue its fight.
“I am committed to maintaining our networks as engines for economic growth, test beds for innovative services and products, and channels for all forms of speech protected by the First Amendment,” FCC chair Tom Wheeler said of the ruling.
“We will consider all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans.”
