Tech giants’ net neutrality legal challenge
January 8, 2018
By Colin Mann
The Internet Association, an industry group that represents the US’s largest technology companies, and whose mission is to foster innovation, promote economic growth, and empower people through the free and open Internet, plans to join upcoming legal action against the Federal Communications Commission over its repeal of so-called net neutrality rules.
In its announcement, the advocacy group confirmed that companies such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google and Netflix would back such challenges.
Lawsuits seeking to block the FCC’s new policy, which was approved in December 2017, are anticipated in the coming weeks, once the rules take effect. The rules would allow Internet Service Providers to block online content, or charge websites for faster delivery to consumers, by rolling back the protections against such actions that were adopted in 2015.
In a Statement announcing the advocacy group’s intention to intervene in judicial action to preserve net neutrality protections, Internet Association (IA) President & CEO Michael Beckerman, suggested the FCC’s ‘Restoring Internet Freedom Order’ would gut net neutrality protections for consumers, start-ups, and other stakeholders. “The final version of Chairman Pai’s rule, as expected, dismantles popular net neutrality protections for consumers. This rule defies the will of a bipartisan majority of Americans and fails to preserve a free and open Internet. IA intends to act as an intervenor in judicial action against this order and, along with our member companies, will continue our push to restore strong, enforceable net neutrality protections through a legislative solution.”