FCC Defends Net Neutrality Rules Before U.S. Appeals Court

Arguments were heard by a U.S. appeals court today pertaining to the matter of FCC’s net neutrality rules, those who are against it have called for the rules to be declared illegal, and hence the arguments on the very legality of these rules. The judgement will very well be a landmark one when it ultimately arrives since it will have a lasting impact on how internet users across the United States access the web.

In its net neutrality rules the FCC has mandated that broadband providers treat all data as the same, this eliminates the need for selling internet “fast lanes,” which prioritize data traffic for services that are willing to pay to ensure that their users have faster access.

On the one hand you have service providers like Netflix who staunchly support the net neutrality rules, saying that without these rules customer experience will be impacted significantly since it will be up to ISPs to decide which pipes to route the data through, whether slower or faster.

On the other there are ISPs like Comcast and Verizon who say that these rules will make it harder for them to effectively manage internet traffic and make further investment to increase capacity hard to come by.

FCC’s stance is backed by library groups, the American Civil Liberties Union as well as internet companies like Reddit, Twitter, Yelp and Medium. US Telecom Association, et al v. FCC, et al, US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 15-1063 is far from done right now, expect a few more rounds of arguments before a verdict is handed down.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: FCC, net neutrality