Libertarians make the case: net neutrality is unconstitutional

URL: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/libertarians-make-the-case-net-neutrality-is-unconstitutional/

The 2011 FCC Order established net neutrality as a matter of national policy. Since, companies like Verizon have been trying to fight it.

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A group of well-known libertarian organizations has filed an amicus brief (PDF) to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of the plaintiff in the Verizon v. Federal Communications Commission case. Verizon filed its own brief earlier this month.

In the brief, TechFreedom, The Competitive Enterprise Institute, The Free State Foundation, and the Cato Institute argue that the last year's FCC net neutrality order "Preserving the Open Internet" (PDF), which took effect in November 2011, violates the First and Fifth Amendments, and that the FCC lacks jurisdictional authority to implement such a rule.

Specifically, the groups say that compelling private companies to "speak," by requiring them to carry all traffic across their networks, instead of allowing them to discriminate as they see fit, violates the principle of freedom of speech.

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