One year later, network neutrality still faces attacks in court and Congress

On February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to enforce net neutrality rules and preempt state laws that prevent the expansion of municipal broadband networks. But whether either decision will survive past Tom Wheeler’s chairmanship is still an open question.

Republicans in Congress have tried to overturn them, and lawsuits against the commission are still pending. Trade groups representing Internet service providers sued to halt the net neutrality rules and a related reclassification of broadband as a Title II common carrier service. Judges at the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, heard oral arguments in December and could issue a decision in the next few months (though no one knows exactly when). North Carolina and Tennessee sued the FCC to preserve state laws that prevent municipal broadband networks from expanding to surrounding cities and towns. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for March 17. Meanwhile, Republicans have made numerous efforts to eliminate or minimize the impact of the FCC’s rulings, so far unsuccessfully. Some proposals would have simply wiped out the net neutrality rules entirely, such as one bill called the “Internet Freedom Act.” Other proposals are more subtle but could significantly reduce the FCC’s power to enforce rules meant to protect consumers.