BREAKING: Court Affirms FCC Authority to Safeguard Net Neutrality to Protect An Even Playing Field Online
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Open Internet Order that the Federal Communications Commission passed last year. In its ruling, the court affirmed that the agency has authority under Title II of the Communications Act to prevent Internet Service Providers from prioritizing some online content over others. This past September, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, represented by noted attorney, Andrew Schwartzman, filed an amicus brief in support of the FCC in conjunction with several other civil rights, racial justice and public interest groups. Said Michael Scurato, vice president of policy at the National Hispanic Media Coalition: “The internet is a place where people of color can tell their own stories without a gatekeeper standing in the way. This court decision is a great victory for communities of color, who are consistently underrepresented and misrepresented in traditional media outlets. Having the unfettered ability for online expression, reaching new business markets, organizing across geographic boundaries and transforming public opinion is critical. Net neutrality opponents threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the FCC’s rules through this lawsuit, but the Court affirmed what we have known for some time: that the FCC’s process was beyond reproach and its reasoning was sound. “This victory not only protects free expression for those already online, it affirms the FCC's ability to modernize Lifeline for the digital age to help bring affordable broadband to the millions of Americans that do not currently have high speed internet access at home. Latino and African American families lag behind, and Lifeline modernization will empower those families to connect and participate in our increasingly digital society. We cannot achieve equality in the 21st century without universal, affordable and open internet access. Today’s decision brings us another step closer in that struggle. “While we would hope that such a decisive loss for net neutrality opponents would cause them to finally embrace the FCC’s pro-consumer, pro-business, pro-expression rules and the certainty that they bring to internet users and companies alike, we expect the fight to continue. Indeed, just last week, net neutrality opponents in Congress included a sneak attack on the FCC’s rules in a spending bill. NHMC will remain vigilant to ensure that the protections now in place through these rules are never again taken away." Read:###
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