If the FCC Loses in Court Today, It Could Be the End of Net Neutrality

[Commentary] A legal showdown, which will take place before a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, is the latest skirmish in a decade-long struggle between federal regulators and the broadband industry over network neutrality protections designed to ensure that the nation’s cable and telecommunications giants don’t favor certain online services at the expense of rivals or startups.

President Barack Obama’s full-throated support of Title II reclassification gave the Federal Communications Commission a strong political boost for its new policy, but also elevated what was once an obscure policy debate into a full-fledged political war. Republican lawmakers have attached an anti-net neutrality rider onto a must-pass government spending bill that would prohibit the FCC from enforcing the rules, and Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) has gone so far as to brand net neutrality “Obamacare” for the Internet. Following Dec 4’s court hearing, the three-judge DC Circuit panel will likely deliberate for several weeks before issuing a ruling sometime early in 2016. After two previous defeats, the FCC is hoping the court doesn’t issue a third strike against its open internet authority. If that happens, net neutrality might be out -- for good.