WA State Attorney General Plans Lawsuit Over Net Neutrality Vote

On the heels of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announcing Thursday the federal government has voted to end what is known as net neutrality, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the state will sue the federal government.

According to various sources, Net Neutrality is basically this idea: (from savetheinternet.com)

"Net Neutrality is the internet’s guiding principle: It preserves our right to communicate freely online. Net Neutrality means an internet that enables and protects free speech. It means that ISPs should provide us with open networks — and shouldn’t block or discriminate against any applications or content that ride over those networks. Just as your phone company shouldn’t decide who you call and what you say on that call, your ISP shouldn’t interfere with the content you view or post online.

The internet without Net Neutrality isn’t really the internet."

The website went on to say why net neutrality is important:

Net Neutrality is crucial for small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs, who rely on the open internet to launch their businesses, create markets, advertise their products and services, and reach customers. We need the open internet to foster job growth, competition and innovation.

It’s thanks to Net Neutrality that small businesses and entrepreneurs have been able to thrive online. But without Net Neutrality, ISPs will exploit their gatekeeper position and destroy the internet’s fair and level playing field.

Without Net Neutrality, the next Google or Facebook will never get off the ground.

AG Ferguson said in a release Thursday that he sent a letter to the FCC asking them to delay their vote, but they did not.  So he has begun the legal challenge to the FCC decision.  Ferguson says allowing internet access service providers to discriminate based upon content undermines a "free and open internet."

The issue has to do, basically, with greatly enhancing the power to regulate, control and even censor what is done technologically, creatively and distributively, to the web.

Congress is already feeling pressure to overturn the FCC decision.  Supporters of Net Neutrality note that FCC chairman Pai is a former attorney for Verizon. A number of large ISP providers are in favor of the vote.