Verizon challenges FCC’s Open Internet Rule in federal appeals court

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. heard a major challenge today to the Federal Communications Commission’s three-year-old Open Internet Rule. Verizon, the internet provider bringing the case, asked the court to strike down the rule entirely — arguing it should be free not just to charge websites for faster service, but to block certain content outright.

The FCC and public interest groups intervening in the case pushed back, warning that a win for Verizon would open the door to corporate censorship and favoritism online, undermining both free speech and competition on the internet.

FSRN’s Alice Ollstein was in the courtroom and filed this report.

[Original audio report: 5:14 — download the audio file from the Wayback Machine capture if you want to re-host it alongside this post.]