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CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom, and the ACA also have been demanding

Dec. 18, 2018 by Catherine Pope

CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom, and the ACA also have been demanding that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai end net neutrality, arguing that it would "enforce barriers to the future deployment of broadband in America."

The lawsuit, which is being led by former National Cable and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Tom Wheeler, claims that the new net neutrality law, which would force Internet service providers to allow ISPs to "provide content on all or any part of any network" and require them to treat all content equally, violates the First Amendment rights of ISPs and other business entities. It also claims that the new law would "ensure that the ISPs have the power to censor and block any content they choose to access".

The complaint seeks class-action status for the cases.

CTIA, NCTA, NCA, and CMS have filed an open letter with the court, calling for the FCC to terminate net neutrality rules in the following way:

If the FCC finds that the new net neutrality rules would create an economic hardship for consumers, create undue hardship for ISPs, and provide for unreasonable treatment of broadband services, the court must affirm that the FCC's actions undermine the First Amendment rights of consumers and encourage further innovation that would undermine the value of these services.

The complaint also calls on the FCC "to establish a common and competitive Internet, with competition to be determined by a single public agency responsible for the creation of a single Internet service."

"The proposed law does not address the fundamental issue that broadband providers have over the past several years: the ability of the public to use all or any part of the Internet, and this is a core right that is being denied to broadband providers," CTIA, NCTA, and CMS write on the letter. "The proposed law will also create an economic hardship for ISPs and other small and middle-class broadband users. This will make it easier to access more government-run services, while preventing consumers from paying for these services. Our goal is to ensure that the internet is a shared world, not one dominated by a handful of monopoly interests who control Internet content. The current proposed law will further undermine this First Amendment right and create an unfair advantage for companies, which have not proven to be fair to the average consumer in any way."

The letter continues, "If the proposed law does not comply with the FCC's First Amendment right to free speech, we will call on the FCC to impose a special court injunction that would restrict broadband providers from using the internet. The FCC will also need to