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D.C. Circuit Ruling Starts Next Phase in Debate Over 'Net Neutrality'
Comcast Corp.'s courthouse victory over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in April might not turn out to be a win for the company after all if it speeds the path for wider regulation of broadband services. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the FCC failed to justify its jurisdiction to regulate Internet traffic. Comcast Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission, 08-1291. The unanimous ruling was a short-term affirmation for those who want to rein in the FCC's ability to impose “net neutrality” rules, but major battles loom in at least two venues: the commission and Congress. A loss in either place would mean a lot more uncertainty for companies like Comcast.
In a move that some say would spark the “World War III” of communications law, advocates for consumers and content providers want the FCC to reclassify Internet service providers as telephone-style common carriers. The idea has simmered for years, and the D.C. Circuit's ruling gives proponents a new reason to push. It could mean increased regulation and years of litigation, and it would likely split the FCC along partisan lines, with the three Democrats in favor and two Republicans opposed.
“It would be an incredibly torturous and exhausting route that would take years to solidify,” says former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who led the push during the George W. Bush administration to ensure that broadband was not treated like the telephone and other telecommunications services. “I think there's nothing worse that we could do than spend the next half a decade tied up in this jurisdictional battle,” says Powell, now a senior adviser to Providence Equity Partners.
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