Net Neutrality 'Stay' Petition Goes to Court

Efforts to obtain a stay of the FCC's Open Internet rules that reclassify Internet service providers as common carrier utilities under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 are now moving into court. Late Friday, the FCC declined to issue a stay, so the petitioners - including the NCTA, American Cable Association, USTelecom and others - filed their petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Procedurally, the petition for a stay had to be filed with the FCC first and could only move to court if the FCC declined the petition. The petition was first filed with the FCC on May 1.

The petition seeks to stop enforcement of the FCC's Title II rules until after judicial review. It leaves untouched the FCC's "bright line" rules prohibiting blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. The filing asks the court to rule on the petition by June 11, a day before the rules take effect. It also asks that the court grant expedited review of the case.

In a statement, NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell wrote, in part, "Such relief is necessary to avoid the serious and substantial harms that service providers and consumers alike will bear if the FCC is allowed to subject the modern Internet to this antiquated regulatory regime."

USTelecom President Walter McCormick wrote, in part: "This reclassification does not serve the public interest, but unlawfully paves the way toward expansive government management of the Internet. The facts show the FCC had no adequate legal basis for reclassifying broadband Internet access service as a Title II utility telecommunications service. The order does not provide a solid legal basis for overriding the governing statute and decades of commission and court decisions that contradict this changed classification."