Today, Mozilla continues the fight to preserve net neutrality protection as a fundamental digital right. Alongside other petitioners in our FCC challenge, Mozilla, Etsy, INCOMPAS, Vimeo and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc in response to the D.C. Circuit decision upholding the FCC’s 2018 Order, which repealed safeguards for net neutrality.
Our petition asks the original panel of judges or alternatively the full complement of D.C. Circuit judges to reconsider the decision both because it conflicts with D.C. Circuit or Supreme Court precedent and because it involves questions of exceptional importance.
Mozilla’s petition focuses on the FCC’s reclassification of broadband as an information service and on the FCC’s failure to properly address competition and market harm. We explain why we believe the Court can in fact overturn the FCC’s new treatment of broadband service despite some of the deciding judges’ belief that Supreme Court precedent prevents rejection of what they consider a nonsensical outcome. In addition, we point out that the Court should have done more than simply criticize the FCC’s assertion that existing antitrust and consumer protection laws are sufficient to address concerns about market harm without engaging in further analysis. We also note inconsistencies in how the FCC handled evidence of market harm, and the Court’s upholding of the FCC’s approach nonetheless.
We are excited to continue to lead this effort as part of a broad community pressing for net neutrality protections, and Mozilla supports other petitioners’ filings at this stage that address additional important issues for reconsideration. See below for copies of the petitions filed.
Petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc filed by:
Mozilla, Etsy, INCOMPAS, Vimeo, and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee
National Hispanic Media Coalition
