Not All News Is Bad! Court Upholds Net Neutality

When the FCC issued rules that reinforced net neutrality, many in the greater Internet community were relieved. Conservative and business interests fought back. They've lost, for now.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, formerly of  a cable industry lobbyist,
shocked the world by doing the right thing in furthering net neutrality.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals -- with a Reagan appointee dissenting -- upheld a lower court ruling that the FCC's declaration of Internet providers as being public utilities, smoothing the way for regulating them, if not in price, then in service.

A U.S. appeals court upheld the Obama administration's landmark rules barring internet service providers from obstructing or slowing down consumer access to web content on Tuesday, dealing a blow to big cable and mobile phone companies.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit backed the Federal Communications Commission's so-called net neutrality rules put in place last year to make internet service providers treat all internet traffic equally.

The rules prohibited broadband providers from giving or selling access to speedy internet, essentially a "fast lane" on the web's information superhighway.

In siding with the FCC, the court treated the internet like a public utility and opened the door to further government internet regulations.

Yay! (Though Supreme Court here we come.)