A lobbying group comprised of dozens of the biggest technology companies announced that it is planning to file a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission over the gutting of net neutrality rules.
Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, and many others are part of the Internet Association, the trade group that is behind the lawsuit. In a statement, IA president and CEO Michael Beckerman said the FCC's dismantling of net neutrality rules "defies the will of a bipartisan majority of Americans and fails to preserve a free and open internet." As such, the group intends to act as an intervenor in judicial action against the FCC's order.
As an intervenor, IA would not be the one filing a suit against the FCC. But as Recode explains, it would still play a potentially significant role by filing legal arguments on behalf of organizations that do intend to file a suit, like the Free Press and state attorneys general. Being an intervenor would also afford IA and its members to appeal a judge's decision.
All of this will have to wait, as the final text of the repeal was only completed yesterday and has yet to published in the Federal Register, which is a government repository. Lawsuits can be filed once all the red tape clears, and it will likely be months before litigation begins in earnest.
The FCC voted 3-2 in December to roll back net neutrality regulations that were enacted during the Obama administration. Prior to the vote, the FCC's proposal to do what it did was subject to public review and two separate commenting periods. While many voiced opposition to the FCC's plan, chairman Ajit Pai never wavered from his stance in favor of dismantling net neutrality rules. He at one point claimed that net neutrality ultimately hurts the sick and disabled, and before the vote took place, Pai posted a video attempting to assure the public that the internet would be just fine once the rules were inevitably stripped away.
