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Comcast Wins Web Battle Against FCC

  • Reuters , Wednesday, April 7, 2010 12:23 AM
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday tossed out an FCC ruling that forced Comcast Corp to change the way it managed its broadband network. The FCC in 2008 had cited Comcast for wrongly blocking customers' use of certain peer-to-peer applications used to distribute large files, such as TV shows and movies. The company was ordered to cease the practice. Comcast agreed to change its practices, but asked a court if the FCC has the authority to make the request.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the FCC failed to show it had the necessary authority. The agency could appeal to the Supreme Court or seek help from Congress where lawmakers could rewrite the laws to provide the agency more explicit authority. The ruling could have major implications for future regulation of Internet access in the United States, and consequences for the FCC and its Democratic chairman, Julius Genachowski, who has made broadband his flagship issue.

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