Net Neutrality Faces Another Setback: US Court Blocks Proposed Rules (Again)

An appeals court ruling this week delayed the reinstatement of net neutrality rules for three months after the Federal Communications Commission voted to reinstate them.

In its decision, the Ohio Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC had not provided sufficient justification to impose the rule against the will of the petitioners, who would be treated as service providers under the rule. Net neutrality requires that ISPs treat all internet traffic equally and does not condone practices including throttling internet traffic or requiring anyone to pay more to prioritize internet content.

Net neutrality also gave the FCC the authority to regulate the conduct of Internet service providers if the agency believes that ISPs are acting in a way that harms competition or consumers.

In its ruling, the court found that “the final rule raises an important issue and the commission did not meet the high threshold to impose such regulations.”

Further review of the matter has been postponed until October 28 to November 1, when oral arguments will be heard. The decision also states that action by the US Congress may be required to restore net neutrality.

The decision is a setback for the Biden administration, which has been working to restore net neutrality since 2022. Net neutrality was enacted in 2015 but was repealed in 2017 under the Trump administration and took effect the following year.