Judicial setback for the Biden Administration: appeals court strikes down net neutrality

Less than twenty days away from leaving the White House, Joe Biden received a judicial setback against one of his first initiatives in office. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down the net neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the beginning of 2021.

In essence, the net neutrality rules have to do with the amount of federal regulation on companies that build and operate the internet. The debate over this has divided Democrats and Republicans since the years of Barack Obama.

Indeed, the 44th president of the United States first imposed such rules, formally called Title II authority, but they were repealed by the Trump Administration. They were subsequently reinstated by President Biden shortly after taking office.

According to the decision of the three judges that make up the aforementioned court, internet service cannot be regulated as another public utility, given that it fulfills a different function than electricity, water or traditional telephone lines. According to the ruling, the FCC regulations are incompatible with the powers that the Communications Act of 1934 established for this government agency.

Ajit Pai, who was chairman of the FCC during Trump's first term, celebrated the court ruling on social media.

"For a decade, I’ve argued that so-called 'net neutrality' regulations are unlawful (not to mention pointless). Today, the Sixth Circuit held exactly that. It’s time for regulators and activists to give up on this tired non-issue once and for all and focus on what actually matters to American consumers—like improving internet access and promoting online innovation," Pai said on his X account.

Another Republican who weighed in was Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has opposed Internet regulations for years.

"Today is a great day for American consumers and the rule of law. As I argued in my amicus brief in support of the petitioners, the FCC’s resurrection of so-called net neutrality was a regulatory power grab that violated the plain meaning of the Communications Act," the Texas senator said.

"I applaud the Sixth Circuit's decision to 'put an end to the FCC's dithering' and look forward to putting an end to this unnecessary and harmful game of regulatory ping pong," he added.

Since his arrival on Capitol Hill, Cruz has been very vocal against net neutrality, even in 2014 going so far as to post a video titled as follows: 'The negative consequences of net neutrality explained in 2 minutes'.

"The worst thing that could happen is letting a whole bunch of politicians come in and regulate every aspect of what you are doing. The reason the internet has had the dynamism, the opportunity, the freedom y the diversity is because it hadn't been plagued by excessive regulation," he exclaimed in the video.

"Whenever the federal government comes in and they put regulations, I promise, the regulations over and over and over again will favor the big guys that have armies of lobbyists in there and will end up putting more burdens on the startups and the entrepreneurs," the senator added at the time.