Verizon Lawsuit Successfully Overturns FCC Net Neutrality Rules, Court Demands Title II Reclassification

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals delivers a landmark ruling in Verizon v. FCC, striking down the Federal Communications Commission’s anti-blocking and anti-discrimination net neutrality rules while paradoxically outlining the path to stronger protections through Title II reclassification. The three-judge panel ruled that the FCC lacked authority to impose network neutrality restrictions on internet service providers because the Commission had previously classified broadband as an “information service” rather than a “telecommunications service” under Title II common carrier regulations.

The court found that the FCC’s rules effectively imposed common carrier obligations—such as requiring ISPs to serve all customers without discrimination—but that these obligations could only legally be applied to entities classified as telecommunications services. The judges explicitly rejected the no-blocking rule, finding it “establishes a common carrier obligation” that exceeded the FCC’s authority under its current classification framework. Only the transparency rule survived the court’s scrutiny. Crucially, the court’s opinion suggested that reclassifying broadband under Title II would provide the legal foundation for enforceable net neutrality rules.

This decision represented both a victory for Verizon and other ISPs in the short term, and an ironic roadmap for stronger net neutrality protections long-term. The ruling exposed the fundamental weakness of the FCC’s 2010 approach and validated advocates’ warnings that avoiding Title II reclassification would doom net neutrality rules to legal defeat. The decision immediately triggered calls for the FCC to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, setting the stage for the controversial policy battles of 2014-2015 that would ultimately result in robust Title II-based net neutrality protections in 2015—protections that former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai would later dismantle in 2017.