Five things that could kill network neutrality rules

The tough network neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission are under attack on a variety of fronts; here are five threats facing the regulations:

1. The Telecom Association -- a major trade group -- and Texas-based Internet service company Alamo Broadband filed separate lawsuits against the FCC orders, claiming that they violate the law.
2. Key Republicans in Congress have for months been trying to replace the FCC’s rules with legislation of their own. During the Senate’s marathon “vote-a-rama” on budget amendments, the chamber unanimously approved of a measure from Sens John Thune (R-SD) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) calling for “clear and certain rules” that “preserve and protect the open Internet.” The measure was symbolic and carried no force of law, but it could point towards future collaboration, Sen Thune said.
3. Even if the courts rule in favor of the FCC and Congress doesn’t act, the new regulations are guaranteed only as long as the agency doesn’t decide to change course. If a Republican takes over the White House in 2016 and appoints a GOP chairman of the FCC, a shift in approach could well happen.
4. FCC commissioner Ajit Pai asked Congress to use the power of the purse to force the agency to abandon course. “Congress should forbid the commission from using any appropriated funds to implement or enforce the plan the FCC just adopted to regulate the Internet,” he said.
5. If the rules survive in court, make it through the gauntlet of Congress and are left intact by the next president, procedural rules at the FCC could end up being their undoing. The agency has an internal provision saying that any application for regulatory exemptions are automatically granted if they are not acted upon within one year -- a measure that was intended to prevent the agency from ignoring petitions. For now, given the FCC’s current makeup of three Democrats and two Republicans, any company asking for exemptions to the net neutrality rules are likely to be rejected. But if that should happen to change -- for instance, if a Democratic president is unable to move their nominees through a GOP-controlled Senate after the current commissioners’ term expire -- the agency could be stuck in a 2-2 deadlock, which would automatically grant an exemption, known as forbearance.