AT&T will ask Supreme Court to cripple the FTC’s authority over broadband

In an attempt to win a government lawsuit over its throttling of unlimited data plans, AT&T will appeal a ruling to the Supreme Court. The Federal Trade Commission sued AT&T in October 2014 in US District Court in Northern California, alleging that AT&T promised unlimited data to wireless customers and then throttled their speeds by as much as 90 percent. In response, AT&T argues that the FTC has no jurisdiction over any aspect of AT&T's business because the FTC lacks authority to regulate common carriers. AT&T won a key ruling in the case in August 2016, but the most recent federal appeals court decision went in favor of the FTC. That's why AT&T is headed to the nation's top court. An AT&T victory could leave many ISPs in a regulation-free zone. The Federal Communications Commission in December 2017 voted to eliminate net neutrality rules and relinquish its authority to regulate ISPs as common carriers. One of the FCC's justifications for deregulating the broadband market was that the Federal Trade Commission can force ISPs to uphold their net neutrality promises. But an AT&T court victory could eliminate the FTC's authority over the Internet services offered by AT&T, Verizon, and other traditional phone companies. Consumer advocacy groups in 2017 urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to delay the anti-net neutrality vote until after the AT&T/FTC case is finished, but he refused to do so.