Analyst: Sixth Circuit Should Hit Pause on Net Neutrality Case

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2024 – A Boston College law professor has an opinion for the federal court handling the challenge to federal internet rules: Do nothing.

Professor Daniel Lyons, in a Nov. 8 opinion with the Washington, D.C., based American Enterprise Institute, asserted that Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration could signal to the Sixth Circuit that new Net Neutrality rules are on the way.

“The Sixth Circuit has no deadline for deciding the case, meaning it could hold the decision until the incoming administration clarifies its position. This might be the prudential choice,” Lyons said.

Lyons noted that a Republican Federal Communications Commission would likely waste no time in repealing the existing net neutrality rules, which stipulate that Internet Service Providers cannot block, throttle or prioritize internet traffic for financial reasons.

The current rules were adopted by the FCC under its authority to regulate telecommunications carriers under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act.

A Sixth Circuit panel stayed the FCC’s net neutrality rules in August, arguing that the major questions doctrine prevents the FCC from classifying broadband as a Title II telecommunications service.