District Court Votes No Net Neutrality

A U.S. District Court has given the FCC a serious set back.

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable company. It had challenged the FCC's authority to impose so-called "net neutrality" obligations on broadband providers.

The ruling also marks a serious setback for the FCC, which is trying to officially set net neutrality regulations. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski argues that such rules are needed to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over Internet access to favor some online content and services over others.

Net neutrality was considered by many as a pseudo Fairness Doctrine for the internet. It would have set up rules so that broadband providers to give equal access for all internet traffic. Such vague language could be viewed all sorts of different ways. Many viewed it as the government controlling what ideas could flow over the internet.