The Federal Communications Commission asked a federal appeals court to uphold its net neutrality order on Monday, saying that Verizon’s challenge to the commission’s rules had no merit.
In the filing, the FCC said it acted within its legal authority to implement the net neutrality rules that prohibit Internet service providers from blocking legitimate websites.
Network neutrality is a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers’ access to networks that participate in the Internet.
Specifically, network neutrality would prevent restrictions on content, sites, platforms, types of equipment that may be attached and modes of communication. Network owners can’t interfere with content, applications, services and devices of users’ choice and remains open to all users and uses.
Verizon has sued the FCC, arguing that the agency is trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist and argued that the rules are arbitrary.
The FCC has argued that net-neutrality is critical for protecting an open Internet that would avoid pay-for-play type situations.
“A service provider could prevent an end user from accessing Netflix, or the New York Times, or even this Court’s own website, unless the website paid the provider to allow customer access,” the FCC has said.
