FCC Net neutrality rules set to go into effect after court denies stay

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption What net neutrality truly means as open Internet rules take effect The Federal Communication Commission's net neutrality rules officially go into effect Friday. The Open Internet rules are designed to ensure that consumers and businesses have access to a fast, fair and open Internet, according to the FCC.

The Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules will go into effect Friday after a court decided not to block them.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. on Thursday denied a request by several broadband providers and opponents to the FCC's Open Internet order or net neutrality rules.

The rules, passed by a partisan 3-2 vote in February, require Internet service providers to give consumers access to all legal content and applications on an equal basis, without favoring some sources or blocking others.

After the rules' passage, several companies and groups including AT&T, USTelecom, CTIA The Wireless Association and National Cable & Telecommunications Association challenged the rules in court asking for a stay.

"This is a huge victory for Internet consumers and innovators," said FCC chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement. "Starting Friday, there will be a referee on the field to keep the Internet fast, fair and open. Blocking, throttling, pay-for-priority fast lanes and other efforts to come between consumers and the Internet are now things of the past. The rules also give broadband providers the certainty and economic incentive to build fast and competitive broadband networks."

Opponents welcomed the court's decision to expedite the case. "The U.S. is the world's leader in the deployment and adoption of wireless broadband, due in large measure to decades of light-touch regulation," said CTIA president and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker in a statement. "The wireless industry seeks to restore that approach ... rather than suffer the harmful consequences of the FCC's overreach."

Also on Thursday, a U.S. House subcommittee passed a budget provision that would cut FCC funding by $25 million and prevent it from enforcing the net neutrality rules until court cases were decided.

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