Court Drama Beckons for Broadband

[Commentary] If the Federal Communications Commission’s new network neutrality rules are upheld, broadband providers may end up spending even more time in the courtroom.

Among the rules’ potentially more onerous terms are provisions allowing regulators to determine whether a provider’s pricing and practices are “just and reasonable” and whether they constitute “unreasonable discrimination.” If consumer groups, Internet companies or other parties believe a broadband provider to be acting in violation of these relatively vague categories, they can file a complaint with the FCC. But they can also simply take the matter up in court. Indeed, Title II, the provision of telecom law that governs broadband under the new rules, allows parties wishing to challenge providers’ prices or business practices to sue them in any district court in the US instead of going to regulators. Those found to be in violation of the law could be responsible for damages, including paying attorneys’ fees. For cable and telecom companies, one fear beyond the long arm of government is that this could also lure plaintiffs’ lawyers to file class-action suits on behalf of broadband customers.