Shutdown or no, the consolidated lawsuits facing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over its 2017 rules that wiped out net neutrality protections nationwide will go forward on Feb. 1, a three-judge panel in D. C. Circuit ruled Thursday.
Shutdown or no, the consolidated lawsuits facing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over its 2017 rules that wiped out net neutrality protections nationwide will go forward on Feb. 1, a three-judge panel in D. C. Circuit ruled Thursday.
Earlier this week, the FCC sought to postpone oral arguments in the case, which are set to begin next month. In its motion, the agency claimed the resources needed to advance its case had been hamstrung by the ongoing government shutdown, which shows no sign of coming to an end. With its funding gone, FCC employees are prohibited from engaging in work “except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
The motion to postpone was mostly procedural. The D. C. federal appeals court has previously stated that denying such motions during a shutdown effectively constitute “express legal authorization” for the relevant agency work to continue under the Antideficiency Act, the law that prohibits the government from accepting “voluntary services” from federal workers during a shutdown (absent threat to life or property).
