Appeals court halts return of net neutrality | The Sixth Circuit’s temporary stay comes only weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, weakening the FCC
It asked for briefs on a case related to Chevron deference.
A federal appeals court has agreed to halt the reinstatement of net neutrality rules until August 5th, while the court considers whether more permanent action is justified.
It’s the latest setback in a long back and forth on net neutrality — the principle that internet service providers (ISPs) should not be able to block or throttle internet traffic in a discriminatory manner.
The current FCC, which has three Democratic and two Republican commissioners, voted in April to bring back net neutrality. The 3–2 vote was divided along party lines.
Broadband providers have since challenged the FCC’s action, which is potentially more vulnerable after the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down Chevron deference — a legal doctrine that instructed courts to defer to an agency’s expert decisions except in a very narrow range of circumstances.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matt Schettenhelm said in a report prior to the court’s ruling that he doesn’t expect the FCC to prevail in court, in large part due to the demise of Chevron.
I desperately hope that if Kamala Harris takes the nomination (which seems more and more likely every day with even Obama coming out and publicly telling Biden to step down), she has the stones to openly defy the court and push through judicial reform. Either impeach and replace Thomas and Alito, or eliminate the fillibuster to pack the courts.