Trump’s former FCC chair took a victory lap.
Federal net neutrality rules, which briefly came back from the dead under the Biden administration, have been struck down by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The three-judge panel ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have the authority to impose net neutrality rules on internet service providers (ISPs). The FCC sought to reclassify ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act in order to impose policies meant to prevent them from discriminating against different internet traffic, like by slowing speeds or blocking content.
But the judges disagreed with the agency’s interpretation of how ISPs could be classified and were emboldened by the recent downfall of Chevron deference, a legal doctrine that instructed courts to defer to regulatory agencies in many cases. After the Supreme Court did away with that principle in 2024, courts became more free to favor their own interpretations over the judgment of expert agencies. Net neutrality was immediately seen as a prime target to be struck down without Chevron. While the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld previous iterations of net neutrality, the Sixth Circuit judges note that it relied on Chevron to do so. “Unlike past challenges that the D.C. Circuit considered under Chevron, we no longer afford deference to the FCC’s reading of the statute,” they write.
“We acknowledge that the workings of the Internet are complicated and dynamic, and that the FCC has significant expertise in overseeing ‘this technical and complex area,’” the ruling says, citing an earlier decision. After the fall of Chevron, it continues, “that ‘capability,’ if you will, cannot be used to overwrite the plain meaning of the statute.”
