Comcast has won a key court battle as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC lacks authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks, reports the AP.

This is a serious setback for the FCC which is trying to establish “net neutrality” rules. The case revolves around an incident in 2007 when Comcast was caught interfering with BitTorrent.

Here’s the FCC’s statement about the decision:

The Court of Appeals has made clear that, in its view, the Commission does not have the authority to enforce its prior framework designed to preserve an open Internet. The Court’s decision, however, does not change the importance of our goal nor should it weaken our resolve.

Indeed, we now have the kind of guidance that will enable us to develop the most effective and legally sound rules of the road to preserve Internet openness and to achieve other important goals set forth in the National Broadband Plan.

I look forward to working with my colleagues and industry to ensure that we are able to protect consumers and cultivate a vibrant Internet ecosystem where economic and social opportunities can continue to flourish.

FCC loses key ruling on Internet `neutrality’ [AP]
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MIGNON CLYBURN
REGARDING THE D.C. CIRCUIT’S DECISION IN COMCAST V. FCC (PDF) [FCC]

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