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ISPs Claim Title II Regulations Don't Apply To the Internet Because "Computers"
New submitter Gryle writes: ArsTechnica is reporting on an interesting legal tactic by ISPs in the net neutrality fight. In a 95-page brief the United States Telecom Association claims Internet access qualifies as information service, not a telecommunication service, because it involves computer processing. The brief further claims "The FCC's reclassification of mobile broadband internet access as a common-carrier service is doubly unlawful." (page 56)
Yes, AC. The cow says 'moo'.
The pig says 'oink'.
The chickens say 'cluck cluck'.
The horse says 'neigh'.
The duck says 'quack quack'.
The geese say 'honk honk'.
The sheep say 'baaaa'.
The dog says 'woof'.
The frog says 'ribbit'.
The coyote says 'aaaahwoooooo'.
The rooster says 'cockadoodledoo!'.
The cat says 'meow'.
And the turkey says 'gooble gobble'.
Now please go play with your See and Say quietly somewhere else, k? The adults are having a conversation, sweetie. If you're good, maybe you'll get a cookie later.
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Now, then, ISPs: I have only one thing to say about them and all their little temper tantrums they keep having: MUH PROFIT MARGIN. Get over it, ISPs, and get correct.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
This argument was even more interesting 13 years ago when the FCC ruled "that cable modem service is properly classified as an interstate information service and is therefore subject to FCC jurisdiction." https://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/2002/nrcb0201.html
You might think that gives the ISPs a slam-dunk case, but what makes this complex is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's decision in the Portland case, which classified cable modem service as both an "information service" and "telecommunications service." Since Congress hasn't passed subsequent laws to pick between those choices, the FCC most likely has the freedom to freely switch between the two...