Court: FCC Lacks Authority To Impose Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission lost a major decision to Comcast when the D.C. Circuit ruled that it does not have the legal authority to slap Net neutrality regulations on Internet providers on Tuesday.

The unanimous decision, authored by Judge David Tatel, rejected the
FCC’s August 2008 cease and desist order against Comcast, which had taken measures to slow BitTorrent transfers. Comcast later voluntarily ended the measures last year.

The court found that the FCC “has failed to tie its assertion” of regulatory authority to an actual grant of authority by Congress. This will move the fight to Congress where Democrats have been fighting to pass a law giving the FCC such authority. The legislation has been stuck in committee with heavy lobbying by the industry and conservative groups.

Here is the decision: Internet decision

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