FCC Declares Right to Regulate Internet

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s announcement the FCC intends on applying what he calls “Third Way” net neutrality regulations to the Internet after a period of public comment has sparked renewed debate over whether the FCC should be allowed to assume such authority over the Internet…
Scott Cleland, chairman of NetCompetition.org, says close to a majority of Congress opposes federal regulators’ attempts to regulate the Internet and these federal regulators may be violating U.S. law…
“The bottom line here is the FCC cannot do anything it wants; it has to operate within the bounds of legal authority and general political consensus. If the FCC proceeds with regulating the Internet and imposing net neutrality, there will be a race to the courthouse to see who can sue first and fastest. [The federal regulators] are creating a circumstance which will lead to enormous litigation and regulatory uncertainty…”

Here’s the best part: this is after a decision two months ago in which a federal Appeals court explicitly ruled that the FCC did not have a right to regulate Internet neutrality.

It seems that the FCC is disobeying a court order. What happens when the government ignores its own courts? I suppose we’ll find out.