Court Ruling on Internet Regulation a Blow to FCC

A U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., has struck down rules that restrict Comcast and other service providers from dictating how their customers use the Internet.

In a 3-0 vote Tuesday, the judges ruled that the Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the authority to order providers to give equal treatment to all traffic flowing over their Internet networks, The Associated Press reported. The decision is a blow to the FCC and a big victory for Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, which had challenged the agency's right to impose the "network neutrality" rules.

The case stems from incidents in 2007 when Comcast blocked some customers from sharing large files over the Internet, saying that such bandwidth hogs slowed down the network for other subscribers. Comcast sued when the FCC imposed rules to prevent providers from constraining their customers' actions online.

The FCC said it will consider other ways to promote network neutrality. In a statement, the agency said it remains "firmly committed to promoting an open Internet and to policies that will bring the enormous benefits of broadband to all Americans" and "will rest these policies ... on a solid legal foundation."

Read the full court ruling here.