{"id":14731,"date":"2013-09-12T13:38:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T13:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.publicknowledge.org\/uncategorized\/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-net-neutrality-oral-argument\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T21:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T21:37:49","slug":"the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-net-neutrality-oral-argument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-net-neutrality-oral-argument\/","title":{"rendered":"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Net Neutrality Oral Argument"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Monday’s net neutrality oral argument in the DC Circuit foreshadowed the court’s decision, opponents and supporters of the FCC’s rules will each have something to cheer and something to fear.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

While some have portrayed<\/a> the likely outcome of Monday\u2019s DC Circuit oral argument on Verizon\u2019s challenge to the Federal Communications Comission\u2019s Open Internet order as a victory for anti-net neutrality forces and a loss for its supporters, the reality is much more complicated. With the caveat that one can never rarely predict the ultimate outcome of a case \u2013 particularly one as difficult and multi-layered as this one \u2013 based solely on the oral argument, there are some pretty clear takeaways, some good, some bad and some just plain ugly.\u00a0 For a
comprehensive report on what happened in the courtroom, read Harold\u2019s excellent blog post.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n

The good news \u2014 if you are someone who thinks the FCC should be able to protect consumers and promote competition with regard to broadband \u2014 is that there seemed to be little appetite from the judges to question seriously the FCC\u2019s power (or \u201cauthority\u201d) to regulate broadband internet access under Section 706<\/a> of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. To the extent that Section 706 gives the FCC the power to regulate in various ways to encourage the deployment of \u201cadvanced telecommunications capability,\u201d the judges seem to take as a given that the open Internet rules would promote that goal.\u00a0 Moreover, the recent City of Arlington Supreme Court decision requires courts to give deference when an agency like the FCC interprets the scope of its authority.<\/p>\n

If the oral argument is any indication, then one of our biggest fears will likely not be realized \u2013 that the FCC would be rendered completely irrelevant. The FCC should be able to, for example, regulate fraudulent billing, protect consumer privacy, promote universal service and (with the caveat discussed below), promote broadband competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This should be cold comfort for anti-net neutrality groups, because their professed biggest fear \u2013 unbounded FCC power over broadband, may come to pass. I\u2019ve never understood why groups concerned about the FCC having too much power under Section 706 wouldn\u2019t prefer the agency treat broadband internet access as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Act. The agency\u2019s power to regulate under Title II is limited to the transmission layer of the network.\u00a0 But you know what they say about consistency\u2026.<\/p>\n

The Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two of the three judges were very concerned that some or all of the open internet rules were really \u201ccommon carriage\u201d rules (which among other things, prohibit carriers from refusing service to anybody or unreasonably discriminating in charges, practices, etc.). Under the Communications Act, it is impermissible to regulate non-common carriers (e.g<\/em>, broadband access providers) like common carriers (e.g.<\/em>, telephone companies).<\/p>\n

This common carriage\/non-common carriage distinction was most recently articulated in the DC Circuit decision<\/a> upholding the FCC\u2019s data roaming rule for wireless carriers. The
decision was written by one of the judges in the net neutrality case, Judge David Tatel. In that case, Judge Tatel described common carrier status as one where \u201ca carrier is forced to offer service indiscriminately and on general terms.\u201d Because the data roaming rule, among other things, \u201cleaves substantial room for individualized bargaining and discrimination in terms,\u201d the court found them not to be common carriage.<\/p>\n

The FCC General Counsel Sean Lev tried gamely to explain why neither the anti-blocking nor the antidiscrimination rules are common carriage. He argued that a common carrier relationship
is established only when a \u201ccustomer\u201d requests service offered by a carrier, and the open Internet rules do not prohibit a broadband Internet access provider from refusing service or discriminating against any particular customer. \u00a0Furthermore, Lev asserted, edge providers (like Google, Twitter, Netflix) don\u2019t request service from the end users\u2019 internet access provider, so a rule that prohibits an end user\u2019s access provider from blocking or imposing a second charge on an edge provider is not common carriage.<\/p>\n

Judge Tatel and Judge Laurence Silberman pushed back hard against that argument.\u00a0 Silberman scolded: \u201cYou divide up common carriage impermissibly.\u201d Judge Tatel kept pressing both the FCC\u2019s and Verizon\u2019s counsel Helgi Walker for answers as to whether the anti-blocking part of the rules could be upheld and the antidiscrimination rules struck down. This very long part of the argument raised the critical question: shouldn\u2019t the judges defer to the judgment of the expert agency as to what constitutes common carriage? One would think (and in fact the data roaming decision says that explicitly). But again, this is the DC Circuit, where deference tends to be given to agency decisions the judges like, and refused to those they do not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n

We won\u2019t know how truly ugly things may or may not be until we see the actual decision, and I would refer to Harold\u2019s post for the range of possibilities.\u00a0 And I haven\u2019t up to this point mentioned the possible influence of Judge Judith Rogers, who appeared more inclined to defer to the FCC. \u00a0But it would be bad both for the internet and its users if the FCC were to win the war over authority but lose the battle over net neutrality. What good is having authority over broadband access if you cannot use it to keep the internet an open network where the biggest companies and the smallest start-ups have an equal opportunity to succeed? Michael\u2019s post gives you a glimpse of the future if the FCC cannot craft effective and enforceable net neutrality rules. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is most ugly is that the FCC is responsible for the position in which it now finds itself. Had the Commission bit the bullet and treated broadband internet access providers as \u201ctelecommunications services\u201d subject to common carrier obligations when it adopted the rules in 2010, the common carriage\/ non-common carriage distinction would be irrelevant. But rather than revisit that chapter in telecom policy right now, we hope that the panel will remember that it is the expert agency, and not the court, that best knows what common carriage is and isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Monday’s net neutrality oral argument in the DC Circuit foreshadowed the court’s decision, opponents and supporters of the FCC’s rules will each have something to cheer and something to fear. <\/em><\/p>\n

\n

While some have portrayed<\/a> the likely outcome of Monday\u2019s DC
\nCircuit oral argument on Verizon\u2019s challenge to the Federal Communications Comission\u2019s Open Internet order
\nas a victory for anti-net neutrality forces and a loss for its supporters, the
\nreality is much more complicated.   With
\nthe caveat that one can never rarely predict the ultimate outcome of a case \u2013
\nparticularly one as difficult and multi-layered as this one \u2013 based solely on
\nthe oral argument, there are some pretty clear takeaways, some good, some bad
\nand some just plain ugly.  For a
\ncomprehensive report on what happened in the courtroom, read Harold\u2019s excellent
\nblog post.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-14731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insights","tag-net-neutrality"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Net Neutrality Oral Argument - Public Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. 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