FCC’s Rollback of Net Neutrality Rules May Be in Legal Jeopardy

The Federal Communications Commission’s rollback of Obama-era net neutrality rules may be vulnerable to a narrow legal attack that jeopardizes the agency’s entire policy.

The commission in 2017 scrapped its rules that required Internet service providers like AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. to treat all traffic on their networks equally, and modified a transparency requirement that mandated public disclosure of network practices. It kept the requirement to deter ISPs from blocking and throttling content out of fear of angering subscribers.

The GOP-controlled agency’s repeal order cited a particular section of federal communications law as giving it the authority to mandate ...