Public Knowledge Urges Court Not To Hang Up On Consumers in FCC Lawsuit

Public Knowledge, joined by Greenlining Institute, The Utility Reform Network (TURN), and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), filed a petitioners’ brief in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit requesting the Court vacate the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 Technology Transitions Order, which rolled back consumer protections established in the agency’s 2015 Order.

Daiquiri Ryan, policy fellow at Public Knowledge, said, "Millions of Americans are currently left vulnerable to harmful copper retirement practices by carriers. For some of the most vulnerable populations in our country, particularly those who are on the wrong side of the digital divide, relying on the copper network is a matter of life and death. And yet, the FCC rolled back the Technology Transitions rules without a second thought or meaningful deliberation. Not only did the Commission completely disregard the robust evidence in the record emphasizing harms that occurred before the Commission put the 2015 rules into place, but they also dismissed the entire possibility that it could happen. Instead, the FCC shifts the burden of transitioning networks to consumers and leaves Americans to trust carriers to act in their best interest. But, as we saw in Fire Island after Hurricane Sandy, carriers will continue to act in their best interest, harming consumers in the process. This litigation is our best bet to protect American consumers and push back on the FCC’s deregulatory warpath.”