FCC Publishes Internet Freedom Order – Clock Starts for Petitions and CRA

The FCC sent the Internet Freedom Order to the Federal Register for publication today which will start the clock running for seeking judicial review. Petitions filed in the 10-day window starting today will be eligible for the lottery designating one of the courts where these early petitions are filed to have all petitions (wherever filed) consolidated and heard. Parties seeking to challenge the order may still file Petitions for Review within 60 calendar days of today, but those petitions will be consolidated in the designated lottery court.

We expect multiple petitions will be filed. After the commission released the text of the order in early January four petitions were filed in the D.C. Circuit while single petitions were filed in the 1st and 9th Circuits. These earlier protective Petitions for Review were voluntarily dismissed after the FCC clarified the filing schedule.

Publication of the Internet Freedom Order today will also start the clock running on Sen. Markey’s efforts to repeal the Order under the Congressional Review Act. The window for repeal under the CRA is 60 legislative days, accounting for adjournments and recesses. To date, Sen. Markey has not attracted 51 votes. His effort is generally regarded as a means for keeping the issue in the forefront, rather than as a repeal that is likely to pass both chambers or be signed by the president.