Makena Kelly

The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission requested that the Supreme Court vacate a 2016 appeals court decision upholding net neutrality rules adopted by the FCC in 2015. If the court decides to grant the motion, the previous decision to support the rules would be removed, clearing the path for re-litigation in the future when it comes to classifying broadband. If the DOJ and FCC’s request is approved by the court, the previous rules, spearheaded by then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, would be voided from the judicial record.

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) introduced a bill that would codify network neutrality regulations into law. Titled The 21st Century Internet Act, the measure would institute the basic outlines of the Federal Communication Commission’s 2015 Open Internet order, which banned the throttling and blocking of content as well as harmful paid prioritization practices.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) appeal of the AT&T-Time Warner decision doesn’t have any immediate effects on the company's plans since the DOJ didn’t ask for a legal stay while it filed its appeal. But it signals the department’s plans to keep fighting consolidation, which could help shape the landscape for future mergers. If the Department of Justice successfully appeals the decision, it could make many other deals less likely to succeed, setting a precedent for considering vertical mergers potentially as monopolistic as horizontal ones.

On July 12, the Federal Communications Commission will be voting to ensure they won’t have to read your complaints anymore — and Democratic House Commerce Committee leaders are not happy about it. House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to voice their disapproval of a proposed rule that, if approved, would send informal consumer complaints directly through to the company in question.

Congress is less than 50 votes from passing a measure that would restore network neutrality rules to the internet. The motion, which passed the Senate on May 16th, would use the Congressional Review Act (or CRA) to undo Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s December order, effectively restoring the net neutrality protections passed in 2015. In May, House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) filed a discharge petition that would force the House to vote on the CRA motion, and has been steadily collecting signatures ever since.

If the California network neutrality bill passes through Assembly, the state’s size and influence on the market might make it the new broadband standard nationwide. The bill, SB 822, is one of the most comprehensive measures any state has put forward in the six months following the FCC’s vote to roll back the original Obama-era regulations.