Today, Public Knowledge filed a protective petition in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to urge the court to review the Federal Communications Commission’s rollback of net neutrality rules.
The following statement can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Senior Counsel at Public Knowledge:
“Out of an abundance of caution, Public Knowledge has filed a protective petition in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, asking it to review the FCC's recent rollback of net neutrality rules.
“While we believe that under the best reading of the rules the FCC's Order is not ripe for challenge until it is published in the Federal Register, in the past the judicial lottery — which determines which appellate court will hear a challenge to an FCC action — has been run based on premature petitions. Thus, to protect our rights, we have filed today.
“In other words, this is a purely procedural move, and we would not object if all early-filed petitions were held in abeyance by the FCC and the lottery is conducted based only on challenges filed after Federal Register publication. Of course, we will file to challenge the FCC at that time, as well.
“The FCC's complete abdication of its responsibility over broadband is bad policy, and contrary to the law. Public Knowledge intends to ensure that we get our day in court.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.