ISPs, FCC Spar in Net Neutrality Oral Arguments

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2024 – The Federal Communications Commission sparred with ISPs on whether broadband is a telecommunications service in oral arguments before the Sixth Circuit.

The court put FCC net neutrality rules on hold in August, citing the Supreme Court’s major questions doctrine. But a separate panel of judges Thursday were more eager to hear arguments on whether broadband falls in the definition of a telecom service under the Communications Act.

Title II telecom services under the law offer pure transmission of information, while information services, the regime currently governing broadband regulation, offer the capability to acquire, post, and interact with information. Net neutrality rules would reclassify ISPs as telecom providers and subject them to more FCC oversight – like recent agency efforts to look into data caps and update privacy rules – something the companies are trying to avoid.