The historical blunders of FCC Chairman Wheeler’s net neutrality plan

[Commentary] Sadly, the apt tale from history is one that the Federal Communications Commission knows all too well -- walking the long road to its regulations being thrown out by the Supreme Court. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's chosen path -- both here and with other decisions taken under his leadership -- will certainly lead the FCC to court. Some of these proceedings are already underway.

Challenges to the FCC’s approach to broadband abound, from procedural concerns, to questions about the FCC’s jurisdiction, to the substance of the FCC’s rules, and to the ticking time-bomb that has long lain in wait under the FCC -- the First Amendment. While predicting litigation outcomes is always risky, the Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence suggests a rocky road ahead for the FCC’s aggressive expansion of its own power.
[Gus Hurwitz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law]