Press Release
Company Caught Violating Net Neutrality Rules Suing to Vacate Them
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday, MetroPCS -- the nation's fifth-largest wireless carrier -- filed a lawsuit, alongside the one filed by Verizon last week, to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s Net Neutrality order passed in December.
The suit comes after public interest groups, including Free Press, raised concerns over MetroPCS’s new 4G service plans that appear to allow subscribers unlimited access to certain applications like YouTube, but would block others, including Netflix and Skype. MetroPCS has not yet responded to the groups’ allegations, indicating that it would do so by Feb. 11.
Free Press Policy Counsel M. Chris Riley made the following statement:
“Instead of responding to the public outcry over its walled-garden practices by offering open Internet access services, MetroPCS has chosen to follow the lead of Verizon Wireless and sue the FCC to strike down the Commission’s weak, loophole-ridden rules. Like a thief caught red-handed, MetroPCS -- rather than change its ways -- is now trying to legalize stealing.
“What we’re seeing are the early signs of a full-scale assault on the open Internet. MetroPCS hopes that by helping to vacate the rules in court, it will be able to continue with its anti-consumer, anti-competitive practices of blocking popular applications like Skype and Netflix unless its subscribers pay a steep ransom.”
The suit comes after public interest groups, including Free Press, raised concerns over MetroPCS’s new 4G service plans that appear to allow subscribers unlimited access to certain applications like YouTube, but would block others, including Netflix and Skype. MetroPCS has not yet responded to the groups’ allegations, indicating that it would do so by Feb. 11.
Free Press Policy Counsel M. Chris Riley made the following statement:
“Instead of responding to the public outcry over its walled-garden practices by offering open Internet access services, MetroPCS has chosen to follow the lead of Verizon Wireless and sue the FCC to strike down the Commission’s weak, loophole-ridden rules. Like a thief caught red-handed, MetroPCS -- rather than change its ways -- is now trying to legalize stealing.
“What we’re seeing are the early signs of a full-scale assault on the open Internet. MetroPCS hopes that by helping to vacate the rules in court, it will be able to continue with its anti-consumer, anti-competitive practices of blocking popular applications like Skype and Netflix unless its subscribers pay a steep ransom.”
