U.S. Court of Appeals Stays Implementation of Landmark Net Neutrality Rule

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit granted internet service providers’ request to stay implementation of the Federal Communications Commission’s Net Neutrality rules. In April, the FCC voted to restore those protections and reclassify high-speed internet-access services as telecom services subject to Title II of the Communications Act.

Industry groups representing companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon sought to prevent the FCC from implementing the order while the 6th Circuit weighs their ultimate challenge to the rule. A Title II classification empowers the FCC to hold powerful telecommunications companies accountable for providing service on just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms to internet users across the United States.

In granting the stay, the court also set an accelerated timetable for the case that will see the parties’ briefs filed in August and September, and oral argument near the end of October.

Free Press Vice President of Policy and General Counsel Matt Wood said:

“The FCC’s April decision restored important nondiscrimination protections and legal frameworks that the Trump administration had jettisoned. The 6th Circuit unfortunately agreed with the industry’s preliminary challenge to the agency’s essential authority. We believe that the litigation to follow will dispel these unfounded phone-and cable-company arguments about Title II’s supposed harms and about the Commission’s authority to classify broadband providers properly under the statute.

“This decision doesn’t change the fact that millions of internet users have demanded Title-II safeguards whenever and however they go online. Industry lobbyists and other Net Neutrality opponents have argued, loudly but cynically, that the Trump-era repeal somehow spurred broadband deployment and speed increases, claiming that the rules’ presence impairs those upgrades. This is nonsense, as Free Press has shown time and time again by examining the companies’ own financial statements and investor briefings. Today’s order unfortunately accepts the false premise that the FCC’s rules prevent broadband providers from rolling out new products. ISPs make such claims only in court; they never make them to their investors.

“Today’s ruling is a setback, but a temporary one. The nation’s communications regulator must be able to oversee the nation’s communications infrastructure. Congress has already given the FCC the tools it needs to make the internet work better for everyone. Under the agency’s strong but flexible framework, every ISP should be responsible for making resilient networks available to people on just and reasonable terms. The agency must have the ability to protect internet users from ISPs’ privacy invasions, promote broadband competition and deployment, and take action against hidden junk fees, data caps and billing rip-offs.

“While we hit a procedural hurdle today, Free Press is determined to see the FCC’s decision go into effect. The 6th Circuit will still need to evaluate the ISPs’ and FCC’s arguments in full when it reviews the case on the merits. We’re confident that we will ultimately prevail in this case, even in the wake of this disappointing outcome and even in light of recent Supreme Court decisions aimed at weakening federal agencies’ oversight. That’s because this FCC decision followed the law and classified broadband as the essential telecommunications service Congress intended such offerings to be.”