When the Federal Communications Commission issued its net neutrality rules in their final form last week, there was an uproar from some groups. Verizon and Metro PCS both have said they will sue. However, they have been beat to it by another group already. The activist group Free Press, one of the main supporters of net neutrality, has filed a lawsuit in court, according to Ars Technica.
Free Press is suing not because the rules are too strong, but because they find them too weak. The group says that it is not fair for wireless companies to be exempted from most of the anti-discrimination policies the FCC has set up. Wireless operators cannot ban Internet sites outright, or ban apps that compete with their own services. According to Free Press, they can just do about anything else. Wired operators cannot do those things, however.
Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood stated the following:
Our challenge will show that there is no evidence in the record to justify this arbitrary distinction between wired and wireless Internet access. The disparity that the FCC's rules create is unjust and unjustified. And it's especially problematic because of the increasing popularity of wireless, along with its increasing importance for younger demographics and diverse populations who rely on mobile devices as their primary means for getting online.
The FCC should have an interesting set of battles up ahead as they fight people on both sides of the issue. It should bring to mind the phrase, "You can't keep everybody happy all the time."
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