Post-Net Neutrality update: Let the lawsuits begin!

[Valin]

Legal Insurrection:

Amy Miller

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

 

Yesterday, the first two lawsuits dealing with the new “Net Neutrality” rules were filed in federal court. The United States Telecom Association, a trade org representing the nation’s largest telecom companies, and Alamo Broadband, a small Texas-based broadband company, are both suing over the FCC’s choice to use Title II of the Communications Act to regulate the way comms companies grant access to different types of online content.

 

Via Cnet:

 

“As we have said throughout this debate, our member companies conduct their business in conformance with the open Internet principles, and support their enactment into law,” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said in a statement. “We do not believe the Federal Communications Commission’s move to utility-style regulation invoking Title II authority is legally sustainable.”

 

USTelecom said it filed its five-page protective petition for review out of concern that a 10-day period to challenge the rules was triggered when the agency published the new rules on March 12. However, the FCC said the window for legal challenges is 60 days after the rules are published in the Federal Register, which is expected to occur in the coming days.

 

An FCC spokesperson called the petitions for review “premature and subject to dismissal.”

 

 

Techdirt has the two filings embedded here.

 

 

(Snip)