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Net neutrality was reinstated in 2024 after being struck down previously in 2017.
The US has teetered back and forth over the past decade in its designation of internet service providers (ISP) as providers of a public service utility. Now, a decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s classification of ISPs as impartial and neutral providers of internet services, deciding that the FCC does not have the authority to make this classification.
The latest toss-up is the second time the FCC passed net neutrality regulations and the second time it has been struck down, and the first time it has been struck down by a federal court.
The communications regulator initially introduced the rule in 2015 with a Democratic party majority, classifying ISPs as Title II common carriers under the 1934 Telecommunications Act, meaning ISPs were required to treat all traffic on their networks impartially. This meant that ISPs cannot restrict or privilege internet traffic by blocking connections or varying speeds or by paying companies to ensure competitors receive slower connections.
Moreover, supporters of net neutrality also argue that it prevents ISPs from filtering internet content without a court order, allowing intellectual freedom and more democratic participation. However, net neutrality was struck down in 2017 under the Republican president Donald Trump’s FCC by former chair Ajit Pai, whose decision was widely criticised by netizens.
Although, in early 2024, president Joe Biden’s FCC once again reinstated net neutrality rules, but this was short-lived as yesterday (2 January), a federal court struck down the regulations for the second time.
The three-judge panel which made this decision yesterday ruled that the FCC does not have the authority to impose net neutrality rules on ISPs.
They said, “we acknowledge that the workings of the internet are complicated and dynamic, and that the FCC has significant expertise in overseeing ‘this technical and complex area’,” but added that the communications regulator cannot use its expertise in the area to “overwrite the plain meaning of the statute”.
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