A federal appeals court has struck down President Biden's attempted revival of so-called net neutrality regulations, putting a years-long debate on the issue to rest.
The push for net neutrality began during the Obama presidency, when progressives embraced regulating internet service providers in the name of keeping the internet open and equal.
The issue lost much of its salience after President Trump repealed his predecessor's net neutrality rules in 2018. Trump's reversal led to outrage among liberals who declared the death of the "open internet."
That dramatic outcome never materialized, but it did not stop the Biden administration from attempting to revive net neutrality last year.
Now, an appeals court has affirmed that the government does not have the authority to regulate internet providers like public utilities, likely relegating the issue to the past.
The demise of net neutrality was primed by a landmark ruling of the Supreme Court last year, Loper Bright, which significantly curtailed the power of federal agencies in the so-called administrative state. The ruling clarified that courts must stop deferring to agencies' own interpretations of the law.
Armed with Loper, the all-Republican Sixth Circuit said it was time to rule plainly on net neutrality and stop the FCC's reversals between administrations.
"Applying Loper Bright, means we can end the FCC's vacillations," the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The ruling has divided the FCC, with Biden's chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urging Congress to write net neutrality into law.
“Consumers across the country have told us again and again that they want an internet that is fast, open, and fair,” said Rosenworcel. “It is clear that Congress now needs to heed their call, take up the charge for net neutrality and put open internet principles in federal law.”
In a blistering statement, Republican FCC member Brendan Carr celebrated the ruling as a setback for Biden's "power grab" of the internet.
Carr, who is set to lead the FCC in the second Trump administration, dismissed net neutrality as a "quixotic" crusade that distracted time and resources from real problems like expanding internet access for rural Americans.
"Indeed, it has now been 1,145 days since President Biden signed his $42 billion plan for expanding Internet access into law. But today, not one home or business has been connected through that program," Carr said.
