Updated: Court’s Ruling Puts Net Neutrality In Jeopardy

trending topics

Register now

Our next conference: paidContent 2012, March 1 in NYC.

Updated: Court’s Ruling Puts Net Neutrality In Jeopardy

Comments (View)
Text Size: A A
Email
Share

A federal court has determined that the FCC does not have the authority to enforce so-called net neutrality rules, which requires broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic, reports the New York Times.

The decision was made today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and is a big win for cable providers, and especially Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), which was told by the FCC in 2008 to stop discriminating against customers who used BitTorrent to download large video files. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) will likely look at this ruling as a setback. As advocates for net neutrality, large Internet brands feared it would limit innovation and consumer choice if operators were able to control how users consumed content. UPDATE: In a statement issued this afternoon, the FCC responded: “Today’s court decision invalidated the prior Commission’s approach to preserving an open Internet. But the Court in no way disagreed with the importance of preserving a free and open Internet; nor did it close the door to other methods for achieving this important end.” It did not hint at what the other approaches may be.

Comcast challenged the FCC’s authority in court because they said it was necessary to throttle BitTorrent to ensure that a few customers didn’t hog the network and slow down Internet access for others.

The ruling could have several consequences: It could negatively affect the FCC’s recently released national broadband plan if the agency’s authority is minimized; it could also jump start efforts by Congress to pass a federal law regarding net neutrality; and finally, it could impact Comcast’s pending acquisition of a majority stake in NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) due to concerns over whether Concast would prioritize NBC’s content over competing TV stations.

UPDATE: Comcast issued the following statement from Sena Fitzmaurice, the company’s VP of government communications: “Our primary goal was always to clear our name and reputation. We have always been focused on serving our customers and delivering the quality open-Internet experience consumers want. Comcast remains committed to the FCC’s existing open Internet principles, and we will continue to work constructively with this FCC as it determines how best to increase broadband adoption and preserve an open and vibrant Internet.”

By Tricia Duryee