Net neutrality rules could return at state level under mixed US court decision

WASHINGTON: Championed by large tech companies and consumer groups, net neutrality was formally adopted by the FCC in 2015. Major telecommunications companies argued it limited their ability to offer new services to content providers, and under the Trump administration, the FCC overturned the policy.

California adopted sweeping state net neutrality protections in October 2018 but agreed not to enforce the measure pending the court challenge.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the decision was a “disappointing blow to the promise of a free and open internet” but she said

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“California’s leadership in enacting the strongest net neutrality protections in the country is a model that will ensure that the internet remains an engine of innovation, job creation and free speech for all Americans.”

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the decision “blocks the FCC’s effort to preempt state net neutrality laws through regulation.”

The court threw out the part of the order that barred all states from setting net neutrality rules.

“The commission lacked the legal authority to categorically abolish all 50 states statutorily conferred authority to regulate intrastate communications,” the court said.

The FCC could still make “provision-specific arguments” to seek to block individual aspects of state net neutrality rules.

Judge Stephen Williams wrote in his dissenting opinion that “On my colleagues’ view, state policy trumps federal; or, more precisely, the most draconian state policy trumps all else.”

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The Internet Innovation Alliance, a group representing companies including AT&T Inc, said the decision “allowing rules that differ among all 50 states could spell disaster for advancement of the internet.”

The Trump administration rules were a win for internet providers like AT&T, Comcast Corp and Verizon but opposed by companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet Inc.