Time Warner Invokes Net Neutrality Repeal To Fight Lawsuit

Charter Communications and its Time Warner Cable subsidiary are fighting a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, alleging that TWC promised Internet speeds that it couldn’t deliver and that the slow speeds affected websites and online services. The suit also claims that TWC deceived the FCC in order to get a better score on the commission’s evaluations of Internet speeds. But last week the defendants told the court that the impending preemption of states on net neutrality will give its case a boost. They submitted the net neutrality repeal proposal into the record and asked the judge to pay particular attention to the order’s attempt to preempt state regulation. New York AG Schneiderman counters that the FCC is maintaining some transparency requirements, even after the planned repeal. “Thus, even if the FCC promulgates the Draft Rule in its current form, the Draft Rule would not add any new legal authority pertinent to Defendants’ preemption argument.”