http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=963108The general counsel with the American Family Association (AFA) says a federal appeals court ruling that gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) no power to regulate net neutrality regulations on Internet providers is solid.
The three-judge panel tossed out the FCC's cease-and-desist order against Comcast, which had taken measures to slow some transfers over the Internet. The ruling said the FCC does not have the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.
"What this does is instead of putting...the FCC as the referee that says who gets to put their stuff on the Internet, the fear has been that they would enact sort of the idea of a fairness doctrine that we've talked about in radio -- so they say who needs to be heard more," explains Pat Vaughn, general counsel with AFA. "They were looking for that type of control on the Internet, as opposed to what it is now -- the network service providers have the authority to reasonably manage their networks."
Vaughn adds the ruling could shift the debate to whether Congress will choose to grant the FCC the authority to regulate companies' network management practices.