US court temporarily puts net neutrality rules reinstatement on hold

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court said on Friday it was temporarily putting the Federal Communications Commission's reinstatement of landmark net neutrality rules on hold until Aug. 5 as it considers legal challenges from the broadband industry.

The FCC voted in April along party lines to reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet and reinstate open internet rules that were rescinded in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump.

Those rules were originally adopted in 2015, and were set to go back into effect on July 22 until the order from the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said the delay was needed "to provide sufficient opportunity to consider the merits" of the request to halt the rules as the legal challenge proceeds.

The FCC did not immediately comment on Friday.

Net neutrality rules require internet service providers to treat internet data and users equally rather than restricting access, slowing speeds or blocking content for certain users. The rules also forbid special arrangements in which ISPs give improved network speeds or access to favored users.

The rules would bar internet service providers from blocking or slowing down traffic to certain websites, or engaging in paid prioritization of lawful content, as well as give the FCC new tools to crack down on Chinese telecom companies and the ability to monitor internet service outages.

Reinstating net neutrality has been a priority for President Joe Biden, who signed a July 2021 executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the rules adopted in 2015 under President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat.

Under Trump, the FCC had argued that net neutrality rules were unnecessary, blocked innovation and resulted in a decline in network investment by internet service providers, a contention disputed by Democrats.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in WashingtonEditing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)