Cato Institute Legal Fellow Brent Skorup is available to discuss the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to strike down the FCC’s net neutrality rules.

Skorup issued the following statement in reaction:

Today, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the FCC lacks statutory authority to make Internet access service a highly-regulated common carrier service. Notably, in the decision, Ohio Telecom Association v. FCC, the court relied on the Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright decision—which sharply limited Chevron deference to agencies—and rejected the FCC’s determination that the agency has broad and vague powers over Internet providers and services, like social media and video streaming.

The court reached the correct result. In 1996, soon after the government privatized the Internet, Congress codified a national policy that Internet access should be “unfettered by Federal or State regulation.” That deregulatory policy was a resounding success. In the past 20 years, millions of American households have seen a 5,000-fold improvement in Internet speeds and commercial investments in wireless networks allowed Americans to upgrade from basic flip phones to 5G-connected, app-filled smartphones.

Despite this progress, Internet regulation activists, citing vague “net neutrality” goals, have sought intense federal regulation of Internet services. Fortunately, today, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ignored the agency’s self-serving misreading of the nation’s telecom statutes and signaled that courts will no longer give agencies the broad deference they were accustomed to before Loper Bright.


If you would like to speak with Skorup on this issue, please contact Emily Adamec to set up an interview.