A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down the Biden administration-backed “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/net-neutrality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net neutrality</a>” regulations implemented last year by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/25a0002p-06.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> 3-0 against the FCC’s recent order that said Broadband Internet Service Providers must follow net neutrality rules because they are a &#8220;telecommunications service.” Net neutrality rules block broadband providers from varying speeds or blocking connections to third-party websites
In a 26-page decision, Judge Richard Griffin wrote that the FCC “lacks the statutory authority to impose its desired net-neutrality policies” because broadband providers offer an “information service” and are not a telecommunications service under federal law. 
Griffin said that because broadband providers are an information service they are not “not subject to common-carrier regulations.”
“For the reasons that follow, we hold that Broadband Internet Service Providers offer an information service and that mobile broadband is a private mobile service,” he wrote. “Therefore, the FCC exceeded its statutory authority by issuing the Safeguarding Order.”
The court&#8217;s decision came after the FCC reinstated “net neutrality” policies in April 2024, which several broadband providers challenged. 
In response, Democratic FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel called for Congress to implement net neutrality regulations. 
“Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair,” Rosenworcel said. “With this decision it is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality, and put open internet principles in federal law.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, whom President-elect Donald Trump has selected as the next chair of the commission, praised the court&#8217;s decision, calling it a &#8220;win&#8221; for the country. He said the regulations were part of the Biden administration’s work “to expand the government’s control over every feature of the Internet ecosystem.”
“I am pleased that the appellate court invalidated President Biden’s Internet power grab by striking down these unlawful Title II regulations,” he <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-408580A1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “But the work to unwind the Biden Administration’s regulatory overreach will continue. I welcome the chance to advance a policy agenda that will deliver great results for the American people.”

US-CRIME-ATTACK

Federal Court Blocks Biden Administration’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules

Biden Administration

Courts

Internet

Net Neutrality

U.S.

Former chair of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fcc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Communications Commission</a> Ajit Pai ripped into plans by his former agency to reintroduce “net neutrality” regulations, saying that they were unnecessary and an “utter waste of time.”
On Tuesday, President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>’s FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-397235A1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> she would move toward reinstituting net neutrality guidelines that were originally instituted during the Obama administration but repealed during the Trump administration. In a statement sent to The Daily Wire, Pai, who introduced the repeal of “net neutrality” regulations, said that the move was prompted by leftist activists and Big Tech companies.
“The FCC leadership&#8217;s decision to revisit so-called &#8216;net neutrality&#8217; regulations is a complete and utter waste of time. Half a decade ago, we were promised that the end of the Internet was upon us, that broadband providers would block and throttle content, and that consumers would be harmed,” he told The Daily Wire.
Net neutrality regulations have been billed as necessary to make sure that internet service providers (ISPs) did not move to throttle websites that may act as competitors and end paid prioritization. Critics of the regulations warn that they give the government too much power over the internet, especially at a time when the Biden administration has been reprimanded by courts over its work with social media companies to censor information on COVID.
“Today, consumers enjoy higher broadband speeds than ever. More of them than ever before have access to high-speed Internet. They have more options and better prices. And the only entities blocking and throttling what they see and say online are the same Big Tech companies that badgered the Obama FCC into imposing these regulations in the first place,” Pai said.
During her announcement, Rosenworcel said that “net neutrality” regulations were needed to ensure that the internet is &#8220;fast, open, and fair.&#8221; She took aim at the Pai-led FCC, claiming that it was “extreme” and “on the wrong side of history” when it repealed previous “net neutrality” regulations.
In his statement, Pai criticized the FCC for focusing on net neutrality instead of working on improving broadband availability or decreasing robocalls.
“It&#8217;s unfortunate that almost 1,000 days into the Biden Administration, FCC leadership can&#8217;t come up with an accurate map of broadband availability, hasn&#8217;t held a single spectrum auction of its own, hasn&#8217;t improved Wi-Fi, and hasn&#8217;t stemmed the increasing waves of robocalls overwhelming consumers — but is determined to waste enormous time and effort on an issue that matters only to left-wing Beltway activists, Big Tech, and a few (alleged) comedians,” he said.
The decision to reintroduce the regulations came just weeks after the Senate <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/7/23863365/anna-gomez-fcc-commissioner-senate-confirmation-net-neutrality" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to confirm Anna Gomez, a Biden appointee, to the FCC. The vote now gives Democrats a 3-2 majority on the agency. The agency is expected vote next month on the proposed regulations.
The end of net neutrality regulations in 2017 was met with great concern by media outlets and Democrats, who claimed that the repeal of the regulations would destroy the internet. A CNN headline <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/media/364959-cnn-headline-declares-end-of-the-internet-as-we-know-it-after-net-neutrality/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that the vote to end net neutrality would “end the internet as we know it” while Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewHolden360/status/1331687277492396035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would be a “road to digital serfdom.”
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“Six years ago, we were told by net neutrality activists, Senate Democrats, and certain media outlets that the Internet would end without so-called ‘net neutrality.’ The hysterical predictions never came to pass, and the Internet has thrived without government control — speeds are up, prices are down relative to inflation, and more Americans have access thanks to new network deployments,” Evan Swarztrauber, a former policy advisor to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and Pai, told The Daily Wire.
Swarztrauber added that many of the companies supporting net neutrality policies had pushed censorship themselves.
“And ironically, it&#8217;s the Big Tech companies who pushed net neutrality, like Google and Apple, that have been blocking and throttling Americans&#8217; access to information — not Internet service providers,” he said.

FCC Holds Vote On Repeal Of Net Neutrality Rules

‘Utter Waste Of Time’: Former FCC Chair Rips Into Plans To Reintroduce ‘Net Neutrality’ Regulations

'Utter Waste Of Time': Former FCC Chair Rips Into Plans To Reintroduce 'Net Neutrality' Regulations

Joe Biden

Politics

Technology

Way back at the beginning of the Trump administration, a battle raged across the internet over net neutrality, a hotly divided political issue most people didn’t truly understand. The Obama administration was all for net neutrality, even though it wouldn’t have made a difference to users but would have created more government control over our lives. The Trump administration, by contrast, was against that additional government power and repealed net neutrality &#8212; to the notice of absolutely no one.
The internet didn’t collapse, prices didn’t increase, people didn’t die, and most forgot all about net neutrality. But as RedState’s Kira Davis <a href="https://redstate.com/kiradavis/2021/05/09/remember-net-neutrality-in-bizarre-twist-it-turns-out-most-of-the-submitted-public-complaints-were-fake-n377058">reported</a>, a report from Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, found that most of the more than 22 million public comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) were actually spam blasts.
“A new report from the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, has found that 7.7 million comments in support of net neutrality were generated by just one person, a 19-year-old college student,” Davis wrote. “And it wasn’t just the pro-net neutrality comments that were found to fraudulent. James’ investigation also discovered a ‘broadband industry group’ spent a lot of money to generate nearly 8.5 million comments in favor of repealing the FCC policy.”
Slate <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2021/05/new-york-attorney-general-fraud-2017-comments-net-neutrality.html?via=rss_socialflow_twitter">noted</a> that James’ report also recommended improvements to the public comment process to ensure these things don’t keep happening in the future:
<blockquote>The report also outlines recommendations to improve the transparency and accountability of FCC rulemaking proceedings, which allow the public to weigh in on draft proposals of regulation changes. For instance, it suggests mandating that lead generation vendors receive express, informed consent before submitting a public comment on someone’s behalf.
The New York AG report includes comments from people whose names were used without their permission. One expressed disgust “that somebody stole [their] identity and used it to push a viewpoint that [they] do not hold.” One 10-year-old boy’s name, address, and valid e-mail was used without his or his parents’ permission. One other victim may have summed it up best: “These are the kinds of actions that make the population lose faith in the system.”</blockquote>
As Davis commented, it appears Democrats, who continually claim there’s no need to verify voter identities to prevent fraud, would very much like to verify the identities of public commenters to ensure transparency and integrity.
As Harry Khachatrian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-you-need-know-about-why-net-neutrality-harry-khachatrian">wrote</a> for The Daily Wire in 2017, the theory behind net neutrality was that companies like Google were customers of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in order to get their content to we, the people. Proponents of net neutrality argued that ISPs shouldn’t be able to offer Google and other big companies a premium service at the expense of smaller companies and that traffic through ISPs should be treated the same whether it was for sending an email or downloading a movie.
But the internet doesn’t work like that anymore, as Google and other big companies have their own infrastructure to bypass ISPs, meaning net neutrality didn’t affect them. It would, however, affect their smaller competitors, which is why they publicly supported net neutrality with slogans like a &#8220;Free &amp; Open Internet.&#8221;

Net Neutrality’s Millions Of Public Comments Were mostly Fake, Report Finds

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Net Neutrality

Federal Court Blocks Biden Administration’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules

‘Utter Waste Of Time’: Former FCC Chair Rips Into Plans To Reintroduce ‘Net Neutrality’ Regulations

Net Neutrality’s Millions Of Public Comments Were mostly Fake, Report Finds