22 State Attorneys General have sued the FCC for its extremely unpopular attack on net neutrality. A statement from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman indicates that the coalition of AGs have filed a petition for review in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. It's the first of what's expected to be numerous lawsuits against the FCC for its blatant and unpopular handout to the telecom sector, which we've noted is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of gutting oversight of the industry.
In a statement, Schneiderman called the FCC's policy decision a "disaster," and warned of the harms of gutting oversight of some of the least-popular, and least competitive companies in America.
“An open internet -- and the free exchange of ideas it allows -- is critical to our democratic process," said Schneiderman. "The repeal of net neutrality would turn internet service providers into gatekeepers -- allowing them to put profits over consumers while controlling what we see, what we do, and what we say online. This would be a disaster for New York consumers and businesses, and for everyone who cares about a free and open internet."
The AGs' statement makes it clear that their lawsuit will focus, in part, on claims the FCC violated the Administrative Procedure Act in its rush to please entrenched telecom duopolies like Comcast. As per the act, the FCC has to prove that the sector so changed dramatically in just two years as to justify such an extreme reversal in policy. If not, the FCC's vote can be ruled "arbitrary and capricious" by the courts. That's why ISPs and their BFFs at the FCC have falsely tried to claim the modest rules utterly devastated sector investment.
The lawsuit collectively argues that the FCC's order "is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act; violates federal law, including, but not limited to, the Constitution, the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and FCC regulations promulgated thereunder; conflicts with the notice-and‐comment rulemaking requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 553; and is otherwise contrary to law."
Of course the lawsuits against the FCC will also highlight how the agency ignored the public, ignored the people who built the internet, ignored 1,000 startups, made up a bogus DDoS attack, and relied exclusively on bogus lobbyist data as it rushed to give a back rub to entrenched telecom duopolies like Comcast.
More lawsuits will arrive once the FCC's repeal hits the Federal Register, which is expected sometime in the next month or so.
