The US's new rules on net neutrality will take effect 20 November. The Federal Communications Commission's "open internet" order was published in the Federal Register on 23 September, Reuters reports. The new rules forbid broadband providers from blocking legal content but leave flexibility for providers to manage their networks. Verizon Communications renewed its pledge to take the FCC to court as soon as the rules are published. "We have said all along that once we see the publication ... we intend to file another notice of appeal," Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden said. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in April threw out earlier challenges to the FCC's order by Verizon and MetroPCS, dismissing their lawsuits as premature. FCC rulemakings generally cannot be challenged until the rules are published in the Federal Register. Republican lawmakers vowed after the rules were adopted to find a way to reverse what they called an unprecedented power grab by the FCC, calling the rules unnecessary and misguided. "In order to turn back the FCC's onerous net neutrality restrictions, I will push for a Senate vote this fall on my resolution of disapproval," Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives pushed through a measure in April to overturn the order and prevent the FCC from adopting any rules related to it. The effort faces a tougher climb in the Senate, where Democrats retain a majority.
