FCC Fires Back at Comcast in Net Neutrality Legal Battle

The Federal Communications Commission filed a brief with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit defending the Commission's right to censure Comcast for blocking P2P files on its cable network. The FCC claims it has general jurisdiction over all interstate communications by radio and wire — including the company's cable modem service. The claim came in response to Comcast's appeal last month regarding the FCC's August 2008 decision that ordered the cable provider to stop blocking P2P files and to amend its network management techniques. Comcast argued that the FCC had no jurisdiction to enforce the principles of net neutrality.