The Switch

A court is about to make one of the most important

decisions in the history of the Internet

By Brian Fung April 15

IfyouthoughtthebattleovernetneutralityendedwhentheFederalCommunicationsCommissionslappeda
seriesofunprecedentedrulesonInternetproviderslastyear,thinkagain.

Formonths,thetechandtelecomindustrieshavebeenwaitingforacourtdecisiononnetneutrality.It'sthe
resultofalegalappealfiledlastyearbycompaniessuchasAT&TandtradegroupsliketheNationalCableand
TelecommunicationsAssociation.Thelawsuitcouldoverturnsomeoralloftherules,andnobodyisquitesure
howit'llturnout.

Anydaynow,thecourtisexpectedtoreleaseitsdecisionandmanyinWashingtonarebracingfortheresult.
Here'swhyit'ssoimportant,andwhatyouneedtoknowtogetcaughtup.

'Netneutrality.'Remindmeagain?

It'sbeenawhile,soasarefresher:NetneutralityistheconceptthatallInternettrafficshouldbetreatedequally
byyourbroadbandprovider.Underthisidea,companiessuchasVerizonandComcastshouldn'tslowdownor
blockwebsitesoronlinecontentthattheydon'tlike,andtheyshouldn'tallowsometogofasterjustbecause
they'vepaidafee.Netneutralityadvocateswouldconsiderthistobediscriminatorybehaviorandsaythatit
wouldcompletelychangethenatureoftheWeb.Inlightofthat,theFCCmovedtopreemptthatkindofactivity
withitsruleslastyear.

Andthentheindustrysued?

Yes,inhopesofgettingthoserulesoverturned.Thisisactuallynotthefirsttimethatnetneutralityhasbeen
takenupincourt:Today'srulesareadirectresultoftheFCChavingtoredraftitsregulationsafterVerizon
successfullypersuadedacourtin2014totossoutmanyoftheoldrulesonthebooks.

Sohowisthecourtlikelytorulenow?

Anythingcouldhappen.ButcourtwatchersonbothsidessaythattheU.S.CourtofAppealsfortheDistrictof
ColumbiaCircuitwillupholdthemostimportantpieceoftheFCC'snewregulations:reclassification.

Reclassification?
InordertolegallyimposeabanontheblockingandslowingofInternettraffic,theFCCneededto"reclassify"
Internetprovidersunderadifferentcategoryofthelaw.Bydefiningthemdifferently,theFCCgainedadditional
authorityoverbroadbandcompanies,allowingtheagencytoregulatethemasitdoeswithlegacytelephone
companies.

Internetprovidersinthelawsuitsaidtheagencydidn'thavetherighttodowhatitdid,andtheyworrythatit
givestheFCCtoomuchpowertoimposenewprivacyrequirements,levyfeesorevendirectlysetpricesfor
service.That'sonereasonforthelawsuit.

Sothecourtcouldupholdthereclassificationdecision?

That'swhatmanyinWashingtonareexpectingittodo,anyway.But,theyadd,thethreejudgesmayrule
differentlywhenitcomestotheFCC'srulesforwirelesscarrierssuchasSprintandTMobile.Industryofficials
havearguedthateveniftheFCCcanlegallyreclassifyprovidersofwired,fixedbroadband,thelawstilldoesn't
allowtheFCCtosweepwirelesscarriersunderthesameumbrella.

TheFCChassaidthatitisconfidenttheruleswillsurvivejudicialscrutiny.

CouldthisgototheSupremeCourt?

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Maybe.Somelegalscholarsthinkitwon'tgetthatfar.TherulingcouldspurCongresstofinallywritelegislation
addressingnetneutralitythatwouldresolvetheimpasseonceandforall.Or,theSupremeCourtmayreceivea
petitionbutnotactonit,asitgenerallytendstointervenewhenA)there'saclearquestionofconstitutional
interpretationinvolvedorB)therearetwocompetingrulingsfromdifferentcourtsonthesameissue.

AnappealtotheSupremeCourtalsocarriesabitofriskforwhomeverisescalatingthecase.Here'swhy.With
JusticeAntoninScalia'sseatstillempty,a44tievoteattheSupremeCourtautomaticallyallowsthelower
court'srulingtostand.Supposeyou'reanInternetproviderandyou"lose"attheD.C.Circuit.Ifyouappealto
theSupremeCourtandthere'sasplitdecision,you'vestilllost.

Still,otheranalystsbelievethataSupremeCourtconfrontationisinevitable,becausesomebodycouldfilea
lawsuitonnetneutralityinanotherappellatecourt,potentiallyprovokingacircuitsplitforthehighcourtto
solve.Ortheycouldbidetheirtimeuntilthere'saninthjusticeonthebench,whichcouldoffermoreclarityasto
thepathforward.AndthereisaFirstAmendmentcomponenttothelawsuitthatessentiallyamountstoSupreme
Courtbait,butit'sunclearhowmuchtractionitwillhavewiththehighestcourtintheland.

Soundscomplicated.
Andyou'renotwrong.Butimportantissuesoftenare.

Brian Fung covers technology for The Washington Post, focusing on telecommunications
and the Internet. Before joining the Post, he was the technology correspondent for
National Journal and an associate editor at the Atlantic.

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