Court Further Delays Net Neutrality Implementation | Citizens Against Government Waste

Court Further Delays Net Neutrality Implementation

The WasteWatcher

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order on August 1, 2024, that stayed the implementation of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet Order (SSOIO).  The Court had initially stayed the effective date of July 22, 2024, to August 5, 2024, but then decided to stay the rule until it could fully review the plaintiff’s petitions. 

The net neutrality saga has been a long and difficult road for the nation, as consumers wait for broadband to be deployed and internet service providers navigate a never-ending winding regulatory path, depending on which party occupies the White House.  It is little wonder that the latest iteration of net neutrality is being questioned in the courts. 

The stay will give all parties the opportunity to develop their arguments for the case to be heard in late October or early November according to an August 1, 2024 Reuters article.  It also sets the stage for Congress to revisit the issue of reclassifying the internet, where Citizens Against Government Waste has long stated such a decision must and should be made.  Only then will the continual pendulum swing of the regulatory state be put to rest.

The Court noted that, “The petitioners are likely to succeed on the merits because the final rule implicates a major question, and the Commission has failed to satisfy the high bar for imposing such regulations.  Although the petitioners have raised other arguments in support of their position that the FCC exceeded its authority in promulgating the rule at issue, such as whether broadband can be classified as a telecommunications service under the Communications Act and the stare decisis effect of the Brand X decision, we decline to reach those arguments at this preliminary stage.”  The Court added, “Net neutrality is likely a major question requiring clear congressional authorization.  As the Commission’s rule itself explains, broadband services ‘are absolutely essential to modern day life, facilitating employment, education, healthcare, commerce, community-building, communication, and free expression,’ to say nothing of broadband’s importance to national security and public safety.”

The FCC’s continued efforts to impose, rescind, reimpose and rescind the so-called open internet or net neutrality rules have turned a technology that has improved the lives of every American into a political gambit which, depending on which administration controls the White House determines how that administration will seek to regulate the internet.  Should the Democrats continue to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it will be likely that the court decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court.  If not, then it will likely end up in the dust bin and be rescinded by a new Republican administration. 

While the Sixth Circuit and eventually the Supreme Court will determine the constitutionality of the SSOIO, the resolution of how to regulate the internet will not be reached until Congress takes control of this process.  A fair and reasoned debate will reveal that legislation should be enacted to establish a light touch regulatory regime, which is the most effective way to promote the significant innovation and investment needed to allow the internet to flourish well into the future.