ICLE/ITIF Amicus Brief Urges Court to Set Aside FCC’s Digital-Discrimination Rules
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently adopted sweeping new rules designed to prevent so-called “digital discrimination” in the deployment, access, and adoption of broadband internet services. But an amicus brief filed by the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argues that the rules go far beyond what Congress authorized.
It appears to us quite likely the court will vacate the new rules, because they exceed the authority Congress granted the FCC and undermine the very broadband investment and deployment that Congress wanted to encourage. In effect, the rules would set the FCC up as a central planner of all things broadband-related. In combination with the commission’s recent reclassification of broadband as a Title II service, the FCC has stretched its authority far beyond the breaking point.