Digital Inclusion

Maybe 'They Forgot About It': Year After Digital Discrimination Case, Appeals Court Silent

Legal expert warns forthcoming Eighth Circuit ruling may matter less than FCC politics.

Jericho Casper

Sep 25, 2025 — 3 min read

Photo of Andrew Jay Schwartzman, counsel for the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, which intervened in support of the FCC’s digital discrimination rules before the Eighth Circuit.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2025 – A year after oral arguments, the fate of the Federal Communications Commission’s digital discrimination rules remains unresolved in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

A three-judge panel, all Republicans, heard the case, Minnesota Telecom Alliance v. FCC, on Sept. 25, 2024. But the court has yet to issue a decision.

In the meantime, the legal landscape has shifted: The Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision ended Chevron deference, Trump issued an executive order eliminating the disparate impact standard across federal agencies, and digital discrimination rules critic Brendan Carr is now the FCC chairman.

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Digital Inclusion Eighth Circuit Andrew Jay Schwartzman Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Benton Jacob Lewis Morgan Ratner Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo Chevron Brendan Carr

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