FCC’s wishy-washy rulemaking might doom net neutrality in court

[Commentary] When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the Open Internet Order in 2010 -- forbidding Internet Service Providers from blocking services or charging content providers for access to the network -- there was one thing the FCC was careful not to do. What the FCC did not do is declare that Internet service providers are "common carriers," a classification that could have opened the door to even stricter regulations.

Pre-dating the Internet by centuries, common carriage is "this age-old doctrine that says the person doing the shipping for you can't mess with the contents," said Matt Wood, policy director for Free Press, a group that advocates for "universal and affordable Internet access." The FCC has avoided calling ISPs common carriers for more than a decade, favoring a "light touch" regulatory approach that could protect consumers while (hopefully) appeasing political foes of net neutrality, Wood said. That approach may be backfiring. Verizon recently challenged the legality of the Open Internet Order, and yesterday the company argued its case in front of a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A Verizon win would allow ISPs to block content or charge providers for a faster lane to customers.