D.C. Memo: Free Press Says Net Neutrality 'Steeper Legal Hill to Climb' Post-Chevron
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Net Neutrality: Free Press sent out a fundraising letter yesterday saying the Supreme Court's decision to abolish the Chevron Doctrine made it harder for the FCC to sustain its Net Neutrality rules in court. "Title II is the correct classification for internet access from a technical standpoint and from a common-sense, pro-consumer perspective. But getting there without Chevron deference is a steeper legal hill to climb when the federal bench is hostile to agency regulations," wrote Free Press Policy Counsel Yanni Chen. The Net Neutrality case landed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. That Cincinnati-based court wants briefs submitted by July 8 that analyze the impact of the Supreme Court's Chevron ruling relative to the stay of the Net Neutrality rules requested by trade associations for national and regional ISPs. Free Press last week entered the case with other public interest groups to defend the rules in case a future Republican-led FCC will not. “All in all, this [Chevron] decision is a damaging blow to the integrity of federal agencies’ processes to protect the public. Yet it’s not the end of the story by any means. Free Press just intervened to defend the FCC’s rules in the industry lawsuit challenging Net Neutrality, and we’re still confident that we will succeed," Chen said.