Washington — The Computer & Communication Industry Association joined public interest groups in a petition for the court to re-hear the most recent national net neutrality case. In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found the FCC can choose to give up its role protecting nondiscriminatory internet access.
Public Knowledge, Free Press, the Center for Democracy and Technology, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society along with CCIA argue in their brief that the court’s ruling conflicts with court precedent and that failed to address serious process failures by the FCC.
During the previous appeals court case, CCIA had joined other associations in a court brief asserting that the FCC illegally eviscerated its earlier net neutrality rules. Over the past decade, CCIA has filed numerous legal briefs supporting net neutrality.
The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black:
“The court unfortunately got it wrong when it upheld the FCC’s decision to arbitrarily sideline itself from protecting consumers’ internet access. Open access is important for all internet users, and for businesses it supports more competition and innovation by putting the next start-up on equal ground with bigger businesses. With so many politicians calling for more competition and better enforcement, it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to uphold open internet rules which have supported competition.”