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Federal appeals court upholds FCC's net neutrality order with exceptions

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Federal appeals court upholds FCC's net neutrality order with exceptions

A federal appeals court has largely upheld the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's 2018 order repealing net neutrality rules, with two exceptions.

The court vacated a part of the order that "would have barred states from imposing any rule or requirement" that the FCC "repealed or decided to refrain from imposing" in its 2018 order, or any rule or requirement that is more stringent than the agency's 2018 order. Additionally, the court remanded back to the agency three other separate issues pertaining to public safety, pole attachments and the impacts of broadband reclassification on the agency's Lifeline program.

The repeal took effect in 2018 with the enactment of the FCC's Restoring Internet Freedom order, adopted under the leadership of Republican Chairman Ajit Pai. The order reclassified broadband as a Title I service under the Communications Act, giving the FCC less authority over internet service providers. It also eliminated agency net neutrality rules implemented during the Obama administration that prohibited network operators from blocking or throttling legal internet traffic or prioritizing certain traffic in exchange for payment.

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A brief history of net neutrality up to the 2019 legal challenge.

In eliminating the net neutrality rules, the FCC said broadband users remained protected by antitrust laws and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection laws.

Petitioners in the appeal, led by internet company Mozilla Corp., argued in February that the FCC failed to provide a sound legal justification for eliminating the rules and did not provide an adequate analysis of the implications of the repeal, especially regarding first responders.

Representatives for the government said the agency acted squarely within the confines of the law and legal precedent.

When the case was heard by the court in February, two of the three judges on the panel focused, in part, on public safety implications of the repeal, which prohibits state and local measures that impose rules or requirements repealed by the FCC. Judge Patricia Millett, who presided over the case, and Judge Robert Wilkins both asked FCC General Counsel Tom Johnson multiple questions regarding potential harms to public responders.

Public safety as an issue in the context of the net neutrality repeal made its way into the national conversation after the Santa Clara, Calif., fire department alleged that Verizon Communications Inc. throttled its internet service during the summer of 2018 as the department helped fight the largest wildfire in the state's history. Verizon later apologized for the incident, calling it a customer service mistake.

An effort in Congress to overturn the rollback of net neutrality rules appears to have stalled, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., reportedly called a largely Democratic-backed bill "dead on arrival" in the Senate chamber after it passed the House in April.