Input Stories

A federal appeals court has overturned the Federal Communications Commission’s so-called “net neutrality” rule (Law360, subscription)—and it’s a victory in the ongoing fight against the regulatory onslaught by federal agencies, the NAM said.

What’s going on: Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit set aside the FCC’s April 2024 order restoring “an Obama-era” rule regulating broadband internet access as a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

• This change would have allowed the FCC “to impose rules preventing the slowing or blocking of web traffic.”
• However, broadband is an “information service” under the Communications Act, the panel ruled, so the FCC cannot change this classification without a congressional mandate.

The “Loper Bright” factor: In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo , the Supreme Court overturned the 40-year-old “Chevron doctrine,” which required federal courts to defer to an administrative agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute—as long as the interpretation was reasonable.

• Accordingly, in reaching its decision, the Sixth Circuit acknowledged the FCC’s “expertise in overseeing ‘this technical and complex area,” but concluded that “post-Loper Bright, that ‘capability’ . . . cannot be used to overwrite the plain meaning of the statute.”

Our take: “The Biden administration’s attempt to reinstate burdensome regulations on broadband providers was a prime example of agency overreach,” NAM Managing Vice President of Policy Chris Netram wrote in a social post last week.

• “Manufacturers welcome today’s decision, and we look forward to working with [incoming FCC Chair Brendan Carr] to reverse the FCC’s regulatory onslaught.”