California's Zero-Rating Restrictions 'Irreparably Harm' ISPs, Groups Argue

Internet service providers will suffer “irreparable harm” if California is allowed to enforce its net neutrality law, which includes restrictions on carriers' ability to exempt video streams from data caps, trade groups told a federal judge. “Plaintiffs’ members are faced with precisely the sort of dilemma that courts regularly find constitutes immediate and irreparable harm,” the American Cable Association, CTIA -- The Wireless Association, NCTA -- The Internet & Television Association and USTelecom -- The Broadband Association contend in papers filed with U.\S District Court Judge John Mendez in the Eastern District of California. The groups add that the law's restrictions on data-cap exemptions forces carriers to choose between facing the threat of enforcement actions, or ending current practices -- an option the groups say would result in “monetary losses, forgone business opportunities and innovative offerings, and loss of customer goodwill.”