Net neutrality may be poised for a Supreme Court showdown

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: May 3, 2017 at 3:52:57 AM EDT
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Net neutrality may be poised for a Supreme Court showdown
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> Net neutrality may be poised for a Supreme Court showdown
> By Brian Fung
> May 1 2017
> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/05/01/net-neutrality-may-be-poised-for-a-supreme-court-showdown/>
>
> A federal appeals court has said it will not rehear a landmark case looking to overturn the government’s rules on net 
> neutrality, the regulations that forbid Internet providers from blocking or slowing Internet traffic.
>
> Monday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit allows its previous ruling upholding the 
> regulations to stand — and paves the way for opponents of the rules to appeal to the Supreme Court.
>
> “I'm super excited,” said Daniel Berninger, one of the critics who in 2015 sued the Federal Communications 
> Commission, which wrote the rules. “When we get to the Supreme Court, we want to be saying [to a largely conservative 
> bench] this is a severe case of government overreach.”
>
> If the Supreme Court agrees to take the case, it could hear oral arguments next spring, said Berninger, who intends 
> to file his appeal within 90 days. USTelecom — a trade association supporting Internet providers that also sued the 
> FCC in 2015 — said in a statement that it was reviewing its legal options.
>
> The D.C. Circuit's decision comes days after the FCC's Republican chairman, Ajit Pai, unveiled a separate plan to 
> undo his Democratic predecessor's net neutrality regulations. Pai argued that the rules have discouraged Internet 
> providers from upgrading their networks and that repealing the net neutrality rules would create jobs.
>
> The rules, approved by the FCC during the Obama administration, classified Internet providers as "common carriers" — 
> a move that allowed the agency to regulate those companies more strictly than before. In addition to banning the 
> blocking or slowing of Internet traffic, the regulations also gave the FCC the ability to investigate business 
> practices among Internet providers that it deemed potentially anticompetitive.
>
> Supporters of the regulations argue that they are a vital consumer protection that prevents Internet providers from 
> abusing their strategic position between Internet users and the rest of the Web. Without strong regulations, they 
> say, Internet providers will be free to raise costs for consumers — such as charging customers extra to keep their 
> personal data private, or to be able to view certain websites or use certain apps. Meanwhile, advocates say, ISPs 
> could be allowed to charge website owners extra fees to reach consumers' screens, and determine what apps and 
> services may flourish online.
>
> Defenders of the 2015 rules said Monday's court decision was a victory.
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/>



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