FreedomWorks Statement on Eighth Circuit Ruling in Charter Advanced Services LLC v. Lange

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that state efforts to regulate information services are considered to be pre-empted by existing federal law.

FreedomWorks Director of Policy, Patrick Hedger, issued the following statement:

“FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, and the rest of the Commission were very clear in their Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The internet is an information service. Any efforts at the state level to impose their own regulations on it undermines the national light touch regulatory framework reimplemented by Chairman Pai.

“A labyrinth of 50 different sets of regulation only leads to uncertainty for businesses and consumers across the country. We applaud the Eighth Circuit for ensuring that regulators in one state cannot harm consumers in another. We hope this decision will spur others like it, so we can move forward and encourage internet investment and innovation.”