EDITORIAL: Federal court puts an end to ‘net neutrality’ nonsense

Recent Supreme Court rulings protecting Americans from bureaucratic excesses are now bearing fruit. Last week, a federal appeals court put an end to the stale “net neutrality” debate by ruling that the FCC exceeded its power by attempting to regulate internet providers as utilities under a law dating back to the Depression.

In the opinion, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited a high court ruling last year that held the courts no longer should defer to federal agencies when they interpret laws to maximize their power. Simply put, the judges found, “The FCC lacks the statutory authority to impose its desired net neutrality policies.”

This means net neutrality supporters will have to persuade Congress to act to move their agenda rather than rely on functionaries making de facto law by rewriting statutes. That’s how a system of checks and balances functions.

Because there aren’t enough votes in Congress to shackle broadband providers with all the regulations that progressives favor, the issue is likely dead. But it’s worth revisiting, if only for educational purposes.

Recall that the FCC under Barack Obama used a creative reading of an 80-year-old law to allow regulators to treat internet service providers as public utilities. Democrats argued that the heavy hand of federal intervention was the only way to promote a “free and open” internet and to prevent greedy tech corporations from bleeding American consumers. Never mind the decades of history proving how an overactive regulatory apparatus actually harms consumers by stifling creativity, investment and innovation.

Two years later, a new FCC chief under President Donald Trump rescinded the “net neutrality” rules. Hysteria ensued from the left. A GQ headline warned the move would “ruin the internet forever.” Nancy Pelosi warned that the change put “democracy,” “entrepreneurialism” and “American businesses” at risk.

Suffice it to say that none of these progressive prognosticators will be confused with Nostradamus. Yet Joe Biden’s FCC in April resurrected “net neutrality” under the guise of protecting consumers. The appeals court ruling strikes down that effort.

“This decision not only preserves the light-touch framework that has driven unprecedented internet growth since 2017 but also sends a clear message: federal agencies must respect the boundaries of their statutory authority, leaving sweeping policy changes to Congress where they belong,” Lindsay Mark Lewis wrote last week for the Progressive Policy Institute.

The absence of aggressive regulation has not led to the disaster liberal activists predicted, Mr. Lewis added. On the contrary, “The internet’s strength has always been its adaptability. Today’s challenge is to nurture that resilience, not smother it in outdated regulation.”

Alas, this is a lesson that too many Democrats simply prefer to ignore.