Industry group files lawsuit over new Net neutrality rules

Associated Press

NEW YORK

A legal fight against the Federal Communications Commission’s new Internet traffic rules has begun with a suit by the United States Telecom Association, an industry group that represents companies including AT&T and Verizon.

The FCC’s rules were approved in February and uphold the principle of Net neutrality — that online content be allowed to load at the same speed. They forbid paid fast lanes favoring some content and say broadband providers can’t slow Web traffic or block content.

The rules were published Monday in the government’s Federal Register and would go into effect June 12 if a court doesn’t block them. Litigation could drag on for years.

USTelecom said Monday that it has filed suit to throw out the rules in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The suit asks for a review of the FCC’s rules on the grounds that they violate federal law and are arbitrary. The suit also says the FCC didn’t follow the proper procedure for creating the rules.

An FCC spokeswoman said in an emailed statement Monday that the agency is confident the new Internet rules will be upheld by the courts.

Internet service providers have said they support Net neutrality, and USTelecom seconded that Monday. What some companies take issue with is that the FCC put the Net neutrality rules in place by regulating Internet access as a telecommunications service — like the telephone, a public utility — rather than as an information service. Some broadband providers don’t like the stricter oversight that comes with that change.