STATEMENT: TPA Praises Federal Appeals Court Ruling Striking Down Net Neutrality

January 14, 2014

TAXPAYERS PROTECTION ALLIANCE PRAISES FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULING STRIKING DOWN 
NET NEUTRALITY

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Today, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down net neutrality saying that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exceeded its authority by banning Internet providers from treating traffic differently based on where the traffic was coming from.  According to the Court:

“Given that the Commission has chosen to classify broadband providers in a manner that exempts them from treatment as common carriers, the Communications Act expressly prohibits the Commission from nonetheless regulating them as such.”

This is a major victory for the free market and those who believe that net neutrality would lead to a government takeover of the Internet.  The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) has long since warned against increased regulatory measures on the Internet noting that the Internet has thrived because government has, up until now, kept a light regulatory touch on the Internet. Quick reacting business and free market forces will keep the Internet thriving, not slow unresponsive government bureaucracies. A new regulatory regime for the Internet would stifle innovation and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in a newly created bureaucracy.

TPA President David Williams released a brief statement on today’s ruling:

“The ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is a major victory for individuals who use the Internet everyday. The net neutrality rules struck down by the court were nothing more than government overreach under the guise of ‘public interest’ with no real rationale. Regulating the Internet is an impediment to the free market principles that help keep it thriving and all net neutrality would do is stand in the way of innovation, while ensuring that taxpayers are footing the bill to pay for a harmful and needless expansion of government-run bureaucracy. TPA welcomes this important ruling and we hope that recently confirmed FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will put aside his own personal support for net neutrality and defer to what the court has now said.”

TPA will continue to monitor this situation closely. As today’s ruling was a major blow to the Obama Administration there can be no doubt that they will look for alternative ways to implement the regulatory agenda on the Internet just as they have done in other areas, including Healthcare and Energy.

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About Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy. For more information, please visit www.protectingtaxpayers.org.