Public Knowledge, Allies File to Defend FCC Open Internet Rules in D.C. Circuit
Public Knowledge, Allies File to Defend FCC Open Internet Rules in D.C. Circuit
Public Knowledge, Allies File to Defend FCC Open Internet Rules in D.C. Circuit

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    Later today, Public Knowledge will join other stakeholders in filing an intervenors’ brief with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. (Unlike amicus curiae, many of whom have filed in this case, intervenors are actual parties to the litigation.) The brief supports the Federal Communications Commission before the court in defense of the FCC’s historic Open Internet rules, which reclassified broadband Internet as a telecommunications service and enacted rules that will preserve net neutrality for Internet users.

    The following may be attributed to Kate Forscey, Associate Counsel for Government Affairs at Public Knowledge:

    “Today, Public Knowledge and other intervenors continue our commitment to defending the Federal Communication Commission’s landmark Open Internet rules by filing a brief explaining how they are lawful and well-supported by the evidence.

    “As our brief emphasizes, the Commission’s rulemaking was a landmark decision for consumer protection with a solid legal foundation rooted in decades of communications law. After careful consideration of the most high profile and robust record in agency history, the Commission followed the roadmap set out by the court in the 2014 Verizon decision to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service. The Open Internet Order is good telecommunications policy grounded firmly in long-settled agency authority.

    “The intervenors represent a broad, diverse array of consumers, edge providers, startups, venture capitalists, academics, lawmakers, and civil rights groups who are all united in support of the Commission’s decision to recognize that broadband providers are common carriers. Meanwhile, the ISP petitioners present no new legal arguments, relying on the same stale rhetoric they’ve used for years to protest open Internet policies. But after years of litigating, the petitioners boxed themselves into a corner. In order to protect net neutrality on solid legal ground, the FCC had to reclassify Internet providers as telecommunications services, and so that’s what they did.

    “The Commission has at last crafted an enforceable set of rules to preserve a free and open Internet. We and our fellow intervenors are confident that the court will find that the Commission’s rulemaking rests on solid legal foundation, and will uphold its authority to protect the critical communications platform for innovation, investment, and democratic engagement.”

    You may view the full brief here.