A federal appeals court said on Thursday it would not delay oral arguments set for Feb. 1 on the Trump administration’s decision to repeal the 2015 landmark net neutrality rules governing internet providers.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had asked the court to delay the arguments over its December 2017 repeal, citing the partial government shutdown. Without comment, the court denied the request.
The FCC had no immediate comment on the decision.
A group of 22 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia have asked the court to reinstate the Obama-era internet rules and block the effort to preempt states from imposing their own rules guaranteeing an open internet.
The FCC voted to reverse the rules that barred internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization.
The net neutrality repeal was a win for providers like Comcast Corp, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, but was opposed by internet companies like Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc, which say the repeal could lead to higher costs.