• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 19, 2024

Net neutrality proponents are urging a federal appellate court to uphold the Federal Communications Commission's recent open internet order, which prohibits broadband providers from blocking or throttling traffic, and charging higher fees for prioritized delivery.

The FCC rightly decided that “net neutrality rules remain necessary today to protect the openness of the internet,” the tech group Incompas argues in a friend-of-the-court brief filed this week with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The group adds that the order helps protect consumers' ability to access content from so-called “edge” providers -- meaning streaming video companies, search engines, social platforms and other web publishers.

Incompas -- which counts Amazon, Google, Netflix and Meta as members -- argues that without net neutrality rules, the cable and telecom companies that provide broadband connections could undermine competition from online streaming video providers.

Broadband access providers “are in the position to block, throttle, and engage in paid prioritization and other harmful conduct such as requiring payment ... streaming video providers, gaming providers, and cloud computing companies,” the group writes.

Others, including the California Public Utilities Commission, also filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the FCC's rules.

The new filings come in response to a challenge to the open internet order by broadband lobbying groups that argue the FCC lacked authority to issue the regulations.

Earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the new rules from going into effect, ruling that the broadband providers are likely to succeed with their legal arguments.