Summary
A US appeals court ruled that the FCC lacks authority to reinstate federal net neutrality rules, blocking Biden administration efforts to restore open internet protections.
The 2015 rules, repealed in 2017, mandated ISPs treat internet traffic equally and barred content blocking or prioritization.
The court cited a recent Supreme Court decision Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, limiting federal agency powers.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel urged Congress to pass federal net neutrality laws, while industry groups praised the decision, claiming it will boost innovation.
The ruling leaves state net neutrality laws, like California’s, intact.
If they lack authority to reinstate… Then didn’t they also lack the authority to remove the Obama era net neutrality protections in the first place?
Several things have changed recently, Chevron being the big one that comes to mind. Federal judges are basically gonna end up making a lot of decisions when these cases end up being pushed. The agencies have been defanged completely.
…no. Agencies operate within prescribed jurisdiction.