Second, the FCC net neutrality rules don't actually inhibit an ISP's ability to express itself freely. Under the FCC rules, Verizon is free to publish whatever content it chooses--it simply can't block or discriminate against other content as a matter of business practice.

The fact of the matter is the vast majority of the data traversing the ISP's network (like Verizon) doesn't belong to the ISP in the first place. An argument could be made that by throttling or blocking traffic Verizon is actually the party guilty of stepping on the First Amendment rights of others.

Let's assume for a minute, though, that Verizon has a First Amendment right to free speech, and that the court agrees this right is somehow violated by the FCC net neutrality rules. There is another approach to the problem that might make net neutrality the lesser of two evils by comparison.

Part of the underlying problem is the fact that the major ISPs are also content providers. Verizon has a vested interest in because it has itsown streaming entertainment services. Comcast is owned by NBC, so it could gain a strategic advantage for its own content by throttling the bandwidth for rival networks. The simple solution is for Congress to impose regulations banning ISPs from delivering their own content, or being owned by companies that publish or deliver content.

If the net neutrality rules suggested by the FCC to keep the Internet fair and open to all seem too draconian for Verizon, perhaps the problem is that Verizon the ISP needs to be separated from Verizon the cable TV provider, or Verizon the wireless broadband provider, or Verizon the VoIP (voice over IP) phone provider.