CINCINNATI—In a blow to Democratic President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its defense of its controversial net neutrality rules, implemented earlier this year.
In one of the more conservative appeals circuits in the federal judicial system, a panel of judges said that the FCC lacked the authority to reinstate regulations that prevented broadband providers and internet service providers from slowing down or blocking access to internet content and broadband speeds.
“Various Broadband Internet Service Provider associations filed petitions across the circuits challenging the [FCC's] Safeguarding Order,” reads a ruling by the court, referring to the commission’s net neutrality order implemented as a hallmark of the Biden White House’s technology policy.
Brendan Carr, Trump’s nominee to run the FCC during his second term, praised the Sixth Circuit’s ruling.
"I am pleased that the appellate court invalidated President Biden’s Internet power grab by striking down these unlawful Title II regulations,” said Carr in a statement. "But the work to unwind the Biden Administration’s regulatory overreach will continue.”
Outgoing chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said, “Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair.”
She additionally called on Congress to adopt net neutrality statutes in a call similar to Commissioner Anna Gomez.
"I remain convinced that appropriate guardrails are necessary to ensure that this critical service remains accessible and secure for all,” said Gomez.
The court’s decision additionally cited a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling released last summer. AVN reported that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court ruled in Loper Brighter Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce to draw back regulatory powers for federal agencies.
With this ruling, the high court overturned a legal doctrine called the Chevron deference, which was prescribed in the landmark 1984 case Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. In Chevron, the Supreme Court determined that courts must defer to administrative federal agencies for interpretations of authority granted to them by acts of Congress. This includes determining whether the act’s intent was ambiguous and whether the interpretation is reasonable and permissible in court and statute.
Under the Biden White House, the FCC reinstated net neutrality that eliminates “throttling” on websites with controversial speech and is subject to the whims of large internet service providers and telecommunications companies, including Verizon, Comcast, AT&T Fiber and others. FCC reinstated net neutrality as the regulator.
The new ruling views the courts as the “expert” venue to determine whether a regulation is constitutional.
Adult entertainment industry stakeholders, including the Free Speech Coalition, have previously advocated for net neutrality alongside major digitally-native companies like streaming giant Netflix.
In a previous report, AVN covered how streaming companies rely on net neutrality for equitable delivery of video and audio content to their customers.
Two tech industry trade organizations representing digitally-native companies filed an amicus brief. The groups are Engine Advocacy and INCOMPAS.
Engine Advocacy represents startup companies, while INCOPMAS represents companies like Amazon, Dish Network, Meta Platforms, Google and Microsoft.
