AT&T is an easy guess among companies that would back the FCC’s push to gut Title II Net Neutrality rules for a number of reasons, but a post from the company’s VP of Federal Regulatory, Hank Hultquist, alleges that another reason is the narrowness of the rules, as upheld by US courts during challenges, which Hultquist says leave plenty of room for internet providers to treat websites and content unfairly. Hultquist also states that providers blocking certain content or slowing down access to it as they see fit could be possible under the current definition of the Net Neutrality rules. As far as Hultquist is concerned, so long as a carrier or ISP lets customers know exactly what will be blocked or slowed and to what degree, it’s technically fair game.
Hultquist goes on to quote a bit from the courtroom, during one of the first challenges that the rule faced, wherein two judges admitted that the rules essentially only applied to companies who wanted to brand themselves as the types who would follow such rules; neutral portals to any kind of content a user may desire. This means that any ISP who is okay with carrying the stigma that would come with it could openly announce that it will not follow Net Neutrality rules. Hultquist further states that Net Neutrality rules are unnecessary because carriers and ISPs have never expressed any interest in or made moves toward blocking or slowing down content on the web.
These details comes just after a US court declined to hear another challenge to Net Neutrality, presented by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who openly praised some of the counterpoints presented, but reportedly plans to continue pursuing an end to Title II Net Neutrality regulations. Pai has been working on getting Title II regulations knocked down since he took office as the FCC chairman, but has been met with staunch opposition from a number of parties, including US government staffers and big internet companies like Google and Facebook. Predictably, ISPs and wireless carriers have largely backed him. With US courts seemingly refusing to hear about the issue at this point, it’s anybody’s guess as to whether Pai will accomplish his goal.