DC Circuit Denies Net Neutrality Rollback Rehearing Petitions
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel denied en banc petitions in cases challenging the FCC's 2017 net neutrality order (see 1912130020) in a pair of orders Thursday (see here and here, in Pacer, docket 18-1051). The…
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court upheld much of the agency's net neutrality partial rollback last fall (see 1910010018). Free Press General Counsel Matt Wood said the D.C. Circuit's "boilerplate orders" denying the rehearing requests were disappointing but "not that surprising" since courts routinely deny such rehearing requests. He said the petitioners will "keep weighing our legal options" and arguing the need for internet nondiscrimination laws before federal and state lawmakers. FCC Press Secretary Tina Pelkey said "the Internet has remained free and open, consumers have been protected, speeds have increased, and more and more Americans have gotten access to broadband," tweeting in response to our tweet about the court actions. "It's clear that a light-touch framework, not heavy-handed government intervention, is the right approach."