In a significant setback for the outgoing Biden administration, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lacked the legal authority to reinstate net neutrality rules.
The decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidates the FCC’s 2024 “Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet Order,” which reintroduced regulations originally enacted in 2015 under the Obama administration.
The three-judge panel, based in Cincinnati, concluded that broadband internet service providers cannot be classified as “telecommunications services” under Title II of the Communications Act, a designation that underpins net neutrality enforcement.
The court’s decision comes amid a shifting legal landscape following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned the Chevron doctrine, eliminating judicial deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.
“Today we consider the latest FCC order, issued in 2024, which resurrected the FCC’s heavy-handed regulatory regime,” the court stated in its 26-page ruling. Using “the traditional tools of statutory construction,” the court determined that broadband providers offer only an “information service” and are therefore not subject to the FCC’s net neutrality policies.
The decision sparked widespread reactions on both sides of the net neutrality debate. Evan Swarztrauber, Senior Vice President at Ax Advocacy and a longtime opponent of Title II regulations, celebrated the ruling on X, calling it a big win for figures like former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and “countless others who fought this battle over many years.”
#NetNeutrality via Title II struck down by the Sixth Circuit. This is a massive victory for @AjitPai, @BrendanCarrFCC, @MPORielly, @TomMJohnsonJr, @SimingtonFCC, and countless others who fought this battle over many years. https://t.co/9phXKdlKDw
— Evan Swarztrauber (@SayreEvan) January 2, 2025
Net neutrality, the principle that internet service providers must treat all internet traffic equally, has been a political flashpoint for over a decade.
After the Obama-era FCC classified broadband providers as Title II telecommunications services in 2015, a Republican-led FCC under then-President Donald Trump repealed those rules in 2017, arguing that lighter regulation would foster innovation and investment.
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The Biden administration sought to reverse that decision, tasking the FCC in 2024 with re-implementing net neutrality through the Safeguarding Order. However, the court’s decision blocks that effort, citing the FCC’s lack of authority under the Communications Act.
This is a developing story and will be updated