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22 states sue to stop FCC from repealing net neutrality
Twenty-two state attorneys general Tuesday filed a lawsuit in an attempt to turn around the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality repeal.
The lawsuit is led by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. He was joined by state attorneys from California, Connecticut, Oregon, New Mexico and others that filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Calling the repeal of net neutrality “arbitrary and capricious,” Schneiderman said that the repeal would have “dire consequences for consumers and businesses in New York and across the country.” He added that the repeal would allow “internet service providers to block certain content, charge consumers more to access certain sites, and throttle or slow the quality of content from content providers that don’t pay more.”
Schneiderman made good on a promise from December, when he said he would lead a multistate lawsuit against the FCC after an investigation revealed that more than 2 million comments made to the FCC were bogus.
The FCC faces more resistance elsewhere as well. Half the U.S. Senate supports turning back the repeal, with 49 Democrats and one Republican saying they’re willing to disapprove the Restoring Internet Freedom rule. Democrats still need to get more Republicans on their side, but it seems right now that most support the repeal.
Even if Democrats did muster more support, that would not mean the repeal would be overturned, but it would send a message to President Donald Trump. If the bill were passed, it would then go to the Republican-strong House of Representatives, where it would have to be passed again by majority vote.
“There is a tsunami of Congressional and grassroots support to overturn the FCC’s partisan and misguided decision on net neutrality,” said Senator Ed Markey, who leads the bill. He added that Republicans are now faced with the choice of supporting the American public or holding hands with special interests whose only focus is profit.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Mozilla Corp. filed a petition in federal court in Washington, D.C. “Ending net neutrality could end the internet as we know it,” Mozilla said in a press release. “We filed our petition today because we believe the recent FCC decision violates both federal law as well as harms internet users and innovators.”
Image: Credo Action via Flickr
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