Federal appeals court strikes down FCC regulations regarding
'net neutrality'  The US Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit [official website] on Tuesday struck down
[opinion, PDF] Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [official
website] rules that required broadband providers to employ
nondiscriminatory practices in the treatment of Internet
content. In a 63-page opinion, Judge David Tatel explained how
the regulations impermissibly required providers to serve the
public indiscriminately, leaving companies like Verizon and
AT&T, after having spent billions of dollars [NYT report]
building their infrastructures, with little room to manage the
networks. The court further explained the concerns of the FCC as
they attempt to regulate an ever-growing industry, focusing on
the relationship between edge providers, companies like Amazon
or YouTube that provide content and services, and broadband
providers like Verizon:  [Proponents of net neutrality] fear
that broadband providers might prevent thei