Charter Says RIF Order Text Refutes New York AG Transparency Lawsuit
Final text of the FCC net neutrality order supports Charter’s case that federal law pre-empts New York attorney general allegations that recently acquired Time Warner Cable deceived customers about broadband speeds (see 1711280019), the cable company said. In a Monday…
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letter to New York Supreme Court Justice Peter Sherwood, Charter said the FCC order “confirms beyond any doubt the expert federal agency's intent to preempt applications of state law that would impose inconsistent disclosure requirements on broadband providers.” Charter disagreed with the state AG office that FCC pre-emption of states asserted in net neutrality order doesn't cover speed transparency. The FCC order “expressly preempts 'any state laws that' are 'in any way inconsistent with the transparency rule' because that rule is 'carefully calibrated to reflect the information that consumers … and the Commission need[s] to ensure a functioning market for broadband Internet access services … without unduly burdening ISPs,’” Charter said. The New York AG “would improperly punish Charter for substantiating its speed claims based on the official speed-test methodology the FCC said should underlie any advertising claims," forcing Charter to change advertised speeds to be inconsistent with official measures, Charter said. "Forcing such discrepancies … would directly contravene federal policy and thwart federal objectives, thus triggering preemption under the conflict preemption doctrine,” it said.