An Analysis of a Judicial Judgment on the Open Internet Order

Abstract

In December 2010, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally adopted an order-the Open Internet Order-to transform the Internet Policy Statement into an enforceable set of rules for broadband providers. Since this new rule limits room for the providers' discretion, the FCC had to face a lawsuit brought by Verizon, an American broadband and telecommunications company. On January 14, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision that struck down two out of the three obligations stipulated in the order. At first glance, this is a huge loss for the FCC; however, the author sees this as a big win for the FCC and its network neutrality principle. This decision has enabled the FCC to secure its legal foundation in regulating broadband services and to get what the original Open Internet Order tried to achieve in the first place.