CEO DATELINE - Associations file lawsuits challenging net neutrality, fuel standards
CEO DATELINE - Associations file lawsuits challenging net neutrality, fuel standards
- March 24, 2015 |
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Walt Williams
USTelecom may be first of several groups to sue FCC
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The U.S. Telecom Association has filed the first in what is likely to be a series of lawsuits against new federal rules forcing Internet providers to treat all data equally.
In a petition filed Monday in U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C., USTelecom argues Federal Communications Commission's decision in February to regulate the Internet as a public utility service violates federal law and the Constitution.
The association said in a statement it does not oppose the net neutrality principles FCC was trying to uphold when making the decision. The group instead objects to the way commissioners went about it.
"The focus of our legal appeal will be on the FCC's decision to reclassify broadband Internet access service as a public utility service after a decade of amazing innovation and investment under the FCC's previous light-touch approach," USTelecom Senior Vice President Jon Banks said. "As our industry has said many times, we do not block or throttle traffic and FCC rules prohibiting blocking or throttling will not be the focus of our appeal." http://bit.ly/1IpQprh
The Washington Post reported that Texas-based Internet provider Alamo Broadband filed a lawsuit against the FCC the same day. In addition, CTIA-The Wireless Association and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association reportedly are considering lawsuits.
Also on Monday, the American Trucking Associations announced it was joining with American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the Consumer Energy Alliance to sue Oregon over its carbon emission standards for fuel sold in the state.
The groups claim the standards unfairly benefit Oregon's biofuels industry and harm out-of-state refiners and producers in violation of the U.S. Commerce Clause.
"Just as trucking is the lifeblood of our economy, for the foreseeable future, diesel fuel is the lifeblood of the trucking industry," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. "Anything that unnecessarily raises the cost of fuel will not just hurt the trucking industry, but will also hurt consumers everywhere in the form of higher prices for food, clothing and other consumer goods."
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, also argues the state standards are preempted under the Federal Clean Air Act.http://bit.ly/1OvIihb