FCC's Net neutrality rules upheld by court in key legal win - CNET

Others who supported the FCC's efforts said that this definitely answers the question of whether the FCC has the authority to impose Net neutrality rules and to reclassify broadband.

"Today, the Court of Appeals has affirmed the FCC's authority to protect consumers and iovation on the inteet," said Gene Kimmelman, president and CEO of Public Knowledge in a statement. "This decision should lay to rest what has become a needlessly contentious issue. Now consumers will be assured the right to full access to the inteet without interference from gatekeepers."

Net neutrality is the idea that all traffic on the Inteet should be treated equally. This means your broadband provider, which controls your access to the Inteet, can't block or slow down the services or applications you use over the Web. It also means your Inteet provider can't create so-called fast lanes that force companies like Netflix to pay an additional fee to deliver their content to customers faster.

Although there is broad agreement with the basic premise of Net neutrality, the FCC's rules have become a lightning rod for controversy because the commission reclassified broadband as a public utility. It's this issue that prompted telephone companies and cable operators to band together and sue the govement. They argued the new classification lets the FCC impose higher rates and will discourage companies from building or upgrading their networks. The FCC has said it has no intention of regulating rates or quashing iovative business models. The agency has argued it reclassified broadband only to ensure it could fight legal challenges that Inteet providers would lob its way in the future.

How did we get here?

The issue of how or even if the govement should have rules to protect the Inteet has been percolating for more than a decade. The FCC had adopted a set of principles for an open Inteet in 2005. Three years later when the agency tried to reprimand Comcast for violating those principles, the federal court ruled the FCC had no authority to take such action. In 2010, the agency made good on its promise to protect the open Inteet with its first set of true Net neutrality regulations.

Verizon challenged these rules in court, and in 2014, the court once again questioned the FCC's legal authority. But in a small victory for the FCC, the court acknowledged the agency's conce that large broadband providers might abuse their power and suggested employing a sounder legal argument based on the 1996 Telecommunications Act.