6th Circuit Sets Aside FCC's Net Neutrality Decision

In a unanimous decision, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today determined that broadband internet access service is an "information service" and not a "telecommunications service" subject to utility-style common carrier regulation. In so doing, the court set aside the FCC's reclassification of broadband, finding that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority. With the FCC no longer entitled to deference following the Supreme Court's 2024 decision to overrule Chevron, the 6th Circuit concluded that the "best reading" of the statutory language in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is that broadband is an "information service" because providers offer consumers the capability of retrieving information via telecommunications. The court separately found that mobile broadband is not a commercial mobile radio service subject to Title II regulation.