Pressure group Internet Association threw its weight behind planned legal action against a controversial Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to revoke net neutrality legislation in the US, reports MobileWorldLive.
Litigation against the FCC’s ruling to repeal net neutrality regulations is widely expected to be announced later this month, with a representative of several US states voicing the plan to Reuters shortly after the regulator’s decision in December.
In a statement, Internet Association – which counts Twitter, Google, Uber, Facebook and Amazon among its members – said it would add its support to the upcoming litigation. Michael Beckerman, president and CEO of the lobby group, said the FCC’s measures would “gut net neutrality protections for consumers, start-ups, and other stakeholders”.
“The final version of chairman Pai’s rule, as expected, dismantles popular net neutrality protections for consumers. This rule defies the will of a bipartisan majority of Americans and fails to preserve a free and open internet.”
He added the association will join judicial action taken by its member companies against the FCC repeal and “continue our push to restore strong, enforceable net neutrality protections through a legislative solution.”
The membership group campaigned to keep current legislation in place during the FCC’s public consultation into the issue and was one of the organisations promoting the Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality in July 2017. On the day, a number of the world’s most popular websites used splash screens and icons to highlight the issue to consumers.
