Complete Story
10/15/2018
FCC tells court it has no “legal authority” to impose net neutrality rules
The Federal Communications Commission opened its defense of its net neutrality repeal yesterday, telling a court that it has no authority to keep the net neutrality rules in place.
Chairman Ajit Pai's FCC argued that broadband is not a "telecommunications service" as defined in federal law, and therefore it must be classified as an information service instead. As an information service, broadband cannot be subject to common carrier regulations such as net neutrality rules, Pai's FCC said. The FCC is only allowed to impose common carrier regulations on telecommunications services.
"Given these classification decisions, the Commission determined that the Communications Act does not endow it with legal authority to retain the former conduct rules," the FCC said in a summary of its defense filed yesterday in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The FCC is defending the net neutrality repeal against a lawsuit filed by more than 20 state attorneys general, consumer advocacy groups, and tech companies. The FCC's opponents in the case will file reply briefs next month, and oral arguments are scheduled for February.
Rules were upheld in 2016
The FCC's argument that its net neutrality rules are illegal is notable for a couple reasons. Judges at the DC Circuit appeals court ruled in 2016 that the rules were legal, allowing them to remain in place despite the broadband industry's attempt to overturn them.
The FCC repealed the net neutrality rules anyway after the majority changed hands from Democrats to Republicans. In defending that repeal, Pai's FCC isn't merely claiming that the rules were a bad idea—the FCC is claiming it has no authority to impose such rules at all.
