Net Neutrality Case Goes On, Despite Shutdown

Whether or not the government shutdown ends beforehand, a federal appeals court on Thursday said it will not delay oral arguments slated to begin Feb. 1 in the case against the Federal Communication Commission's repeal of the 2015 net neutrality rules and classification of ISPs.

On Tuesday, the FCC asked a federal appeals court to delay the hearing, citing the partial government shutdown as the reason. (See Net Neutrality: It's Not Dead Yet.)

Led in this particular case by trade group INCOMPAS -- which states it "advocates for competition policy across all networks [and] represents Internet, streaming, communications and technology companies both large and small, advocating for laws and policies that promote competition, innovation and economic development" -- petitioners filed to prevent any delay."

INCOMPAS' legal representatives' cited:

• Court precedent: In at least 16 cases during the 2013 government shutdown, the court denied any delay in oral arguments.
• Time pressures: "Due to the FCC's misguided and unlawful repeal of the network neutrality rules, consumers are at risk of substantial harm from ISPs which may now interfere with access to lawful Internet content without the restraint of the net neutrality rules."
• Block and tackle: Edge providers face threats from ISPs, which may block, throttle or use other tactics against edge providers' services that compete with ISPs' offerings.
• Time is money: Plaintiffs have invested money, time and other resources to prepare for the February date and any change to that timing would create "substantial disruption."

The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs -- against the FCC -- and oral arguments will begin, as scheduled, on Feb. 1. The court made no comment beyond its ruling.

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— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.