U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit strikes down FCC's net neutrality rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit struck down the Federal Communications Commission's “net neutrality” rules governing internet service providers. The Federal Communications Commission had considered the reinstatement of net neutrality a major accomplishment under the Biden administration. The reversal is a glimpse of the years ahead, during which President-elect Donald Trump’s team has vowed to broadly undo his predecessor’s regulation of private-sector companies. The 6th Circuit said in its decision that internet service providers were not just dumb pipes, as the FCC has contended, and that, for that reason, internet service cannot be regulated as a mere utility service like power, water and traditional telephone lines. Advocates of net neutrality have long argued that such rules are necessary to keep internet service providers from abusing their power against consumers—for instance, by slowing down access to certain websites or types of content. Opponents say that there is limited evidence that internet service providers choose to discriminate against content this way, and that heavier oversight would weigh on innovation. Andrew Jay Schwartzman, senior counsel at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said “This is bad for consumers, for businesses that rely on the internet, and for protecting broadband networks from intrusions by nation states.”