The FCC's net neutrality and broadband reclassification order took effect Friday and is now the law -- at least for the time being -- after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday refused to grant telco and cable petitioners a stay of two parts of the order, but agreed to expedite review of the underlying legal challenges to the order (see 1506110048). The ruling wasn't a surprise, even to most stay proponents seeking to block an Internet conduct standard and the reclassification of broadband access as a telecom service under Title II of the Communications Act.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau cares more about penalties and publicity than its core mission of enforcing the rules, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said Thursday in a keynote at the FCBA annual meeting that was pointedly critical of the FCC's approach to enforcement. "It's entered territory that can only could be called misguided," O'Rielly said. "The Commission seems more intent on obtaining newspaper headlines trumpeting accusations and eye-popping fines. Self-aggrandizing fanfare is a major objective. Sizzle over substance." The remarks were later posted online.

Members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging at a Wednesday hearing encouraged the FCC to clamp down on unwanted robocalls. The FCC is expected to impose what are seen as generally pro-consumer rules as it takes up a declaratory ruling ​on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) at its June 18 meeting (see 1506030043).

GOP House appropriators decided to not only refuse the FCC its funding increase for FY 2016 but to cut its budget by tens of millions of dollars, address net neutrality and impose process requirements that Chairman Tom Wheeler has criticized as obstructive. The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee will mark up the Financial Services draft appropriations proposal Thursday.

Prospects remain strong for the Senate to act on an extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act following House passage Tuesday of the Permanent ITFA (HR-235). Supporters of that bill told us that it’s unlikely that extension will come in the form of the stand-alone Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act (S-431), the Senate’s HR-235 equivalent. HR-235 and S-431 would make ITFA’s ban on state and local Internet access taxes and certain state taxes on e-commerce permanent (see 1501090042). The House passed HR-235 by voice vote Tuesday, just as it did in 2014 before Senate consideration of the bill was derailed by debate over the Marketplace Fairness Act. Congress passed a temporary extension of ITFA during last year’s lame-duck session (see 1412170034, 1412030052 and 1407210077).

Industry stakeholders universally praised the FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) report on communications sector cybersecurity risk management for recommending voluntary processes and assurances, with Motorola Solutions saying in comments posted Monday that those recommendations “strike an appropriate balance” between assuring cybersecurity protection and reflecting the interests of all stakeholders. The CSRIC report, adopted in March, was meant to adapt the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework for communications sector use (see 1503180056). Industry groups CTIA and TIA similarly praised the CSRIC report for providing important guidance to the sector (see 1505290042). A separate Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) proceeding (see 1504090049 and 1503160059) on possible cybersecurity topics the IPTF should address through multistakeholder work drew multiple filings urging the IPTF to factor the NIST framework into its process.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler voiced concern that rural telco groups haven't reached agreement on an industry plan for overhauling rate-of-return USF mechanisms. Though he was hopeful rural representatives could still address their differences, industry talks “cannot drag on,” Wheeler said in a letter that circulated Monday responding to a previous letter from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., who had urged the FCC to “reform” USF mechanisms to support rural broadband deployment. Telco parties negotiating a possible industry plan face a Wednesday FCC deadline for reaching agreement.

Telco and cable petitioners filed their final brief Thursday in support of their motion to stay two key parts of the FCC net neutrality order, which they called "a seismic departure from the status quo that has prevailed for more than two decades." The American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association filed their response to the stay opposition of the FCC, Department of Justice and others (see 1505220037) a day before the filing deadline imposed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The petitioners said FCC reclassification of broadband Internet access as Title II common carriage under the Communications Act would expose their industry members "to a host of new, ill-defined requirements, and it immediately threatens them with class-action litigation and enforcement actions." They said the reclassification is likely to be set aside as contrary to the Communications Act and promulgated in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, citing a host of reasons. "This is thus a paradigmatic case for granting a stay pending appeal," the groups said. "The Internet economy has thrived without Title II mandates, to the immense benefit of the public." Petitioners knocked FCC arguments invoking Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes to claim that case-by-case adjudication can't cause harm. "Petitioners object not to case-by-case adjudication itself, but to a massive regulatory sea change, accompanied by potential class-action litigation and multi-million dollar forfeitures, without any intelligible guidance as to what 'rates' and 'practices' are 'just' and 'reasonable' in the broadband context, and what conduct the newly concocted Internet conduct standard proscribes. Justice Holmes never sanctioned such a regime," they said. Thousands of providers face "immediate and irreparable harm," with the situation "most dire for the hundreds of small broadband providers," they said. The petitioners haven't asked that the four FCC net neutrality rules -- no Internet blocking, throttling or paid prioritization, along with transparency duties -- be stayed. Absent a stay, the commission order takes effect on June 12. The petitioners said at a minimum the court should grant expedited review, which the agency and its intervenors support.

The FCC will offer clarity in a declaratory ruling on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and how TCPA is to be applied. The ruling is to be circulated for a vote at the agency’s June 18 meeting, commission officials said Wednesday. Some have been seeking clarity on TCPA enforcement (see 1505210034). Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether the FCC will also take up Lifeline reform at the meeting. Industry lawyers said a proposal on the USF program still seems likely. More will be known Thursday, the due date for Chairman Tom Wheeler to circulate items for the June open meeting.

USTelecom asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to intervene in defense of the FCC against Full Service Network's petition for review challenging the agency's net neutrality order. "Unlike all of the other petitioners that have filed petitions to date, these Petitioners intend to argue that the FCC should have imposed even more regulation on providers of broadband Internet access service, including USTelecom’s member companies," USTelecom said in its motion Tuesday. USTelecom has filed a petition for review (and sought a stay) of the FCC order on the grounds that the commission allegedly overstepped its authority in seeking too much regulatory oversight, among other things.