The coming fight over net neutrality

[Commentary] Horror movies are famous for their deceptive "false victories" -- in which everyone thinks the bad guy has been defeated and the heroes are safe, and then the villain bursts out of nowhere and the chase is on again. It's a good analogy for politics, where no victory is ever truly secure and every bit of progress must be constantly defended. Supporters of net neutrality face this reality right now.

After a hard-fought effort in 2014, pushed over the finish line by the president of the United States himself, net neutrality proponents celebrated when the Federal Communications Commission passed sweeping new rules in February. But like our movie heroes prematurely letting out their sighs of relief, these net neutrality optimists are in for a very rude awakening. The fight for Internet openness is far from over -- and the new FCC rules that many have already chalked up as a win are actually almost certain to be overturned in court. Seven different lawsuits challenging the FCC rules already have been filed. Those who care about the open Internet need to re-cork the champagne and get to work urging Congress to shore up these rules right away. For those who care about net neutrality, there is only one way to cure these legal defects and survive the coming onslaught in court. Congress must pass legislation to make the core open Internet protections permanent. Legislation would make the entire conflict over "information services" vs. "telecommunications" irrelevant -- those classifications apply to the FCC, not Congress -- and put the rules on the strongest possible legal footing. A law of this kind could be immune to challenge. There is growing interest in both parties in legislation along these lines, shoring up net neutrality while jettisoning the legally suspect "reclassification" approach. And anyone who cares about long-term protection for the open Internet should urge them to do so quickly before the courts strike down a victory many worked so hard to win.

[David Balto served as policy director at the Federal Trade Commission]