Frosh Join Multi Lawsuit To Stop Rollback Of Net Neutrality

Attorney General Frosh Files Suit to Stop Illegal Rollback of Net
Neutrality
Coalition of 22 Attorneys General Files Petition for Review, Formally Commencing Lawsuit

BALTIMORE, MD (January 16, 2018) – Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh joined a
coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing a multistate lawsuit to block the Federal
Communications Commission’s illegal rollback of net neutrality. The coalition filed a petition
for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, formally commencing the lawsuit
against the FCC and the federal government.

The repeal of net neutrality would have dire consequences for consumers and businesses in
Maryland and across the country that rely on a free and open internet - allowing internet service
providers to block certain content, charge consumers more to access certain sites, and throttle or
slow the quality of content from content providers that don’t pay more.

“Rolling back net neutrality will negatively affect every consumer and business,” said Attorney
General Frosh. “We cannot allow the Federal Communications Commission to turn over
control of how we use the Internet in our everyday lives to Internet service providers.”
Under the Administrative Procedure Act, the FCC cannot make “arbitrary and capricious”
changes to existing policies, such as net neutrality.

The FCC’s new rule fails to justify the Commission’s departure from its long-standing policy and practice of defending net neutrality, while misinterpreting and disregarding critical record evidence on industry practices and harm to consumers and businesses. Moreover, the rule wrongly reclassifies broadband internet as a Title I information service, rather than a Title II telecommunications service, based on an erroneous and unreasonable interpretation of the Telecommunications Act. Finally, the rule improperly and unlawfully includes sweeping preemption of state and local laws.

In addition to Maryland, the lawsuit was joined by attorneys general from California,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columb (1.)

U.S. Telecom is currently busy with arguments and counter-arguments on Net Neutrality. In November 2014, former President Obama actively endorsed Net Neutrality to bring in a radical change in the way the government treats high-speed Internet service. In an historic decision, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved Net Neutrality on Feb 26, 2015, after a majority 3-2 vote. (2.)

What will this mean for the consumer? Comcast now charges almost as much for a month of internet service, as it does for basic cable. It seems as though a lot of laws and bills that president Obama passed for the good of the nation are either being repealed, replaced, or reclassified. My inbox has an email each day from the Attorney Generals office concerning laws that our Attorney General Frosh is fighting on behalf of Marylanders, that either the white house, President, or the Federal government wants to undo, redo, replace, or just plan ignore. And more often than not it is multi lawsuits with Attorney Generals from other states joining in. (3.)

Article Press Release Maryland Office Of The Attorney General (1.)

Zacks Equity Research www.zacks.com November 27, 2017 (2.)

Aujunai Charpentiair (3.)