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Lawsuit against AT&T for throttling “unlimited” data will go forward
June 26, 2025
When AT&Tbrought back unlimited mobile data plans, the company neglected to promote that it would slow the connections of users after they burned through 5 GB of LTE data. Commonly known as “throttling,” the Federal Trade Commission argued that this represented “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” and sued AT&T.
AT&T appealed to the federal court that the company is a “common carrier,” a business category that is exempt from the FTC Act, and thus not under the authority of the FTC. However, according toa court summary filed yesterday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the notion, which enables the FTC to continue with its case against the nation’s second-largest telecommunications provider.
While this is bad news for AT&T, it could be good news for consumers. The ruling upholds the FTC’s regulatory authority over companies like AT&T, which are not simply telecommunications providers. AT&T’s argument essentially was, “We are a mobile carrier, not an ISP, and therefore not under the FTC’s regulatory control,” but the court has ruled against that. It is now legally clear that the FTC does have authority over the mobile branches of multi-faceted companies likeAT&TandVerizon.
This enables the FTC to stand against mobile carriers that would attempt to use deceptive advertising practices to boost customer growth.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gave a statement on the ruling, welcoming the result: “The Ninth Circuit’s decision…reaffirms that the Federal Trade Commission will once again be able to police Internet service providers after the Restoring Internet Freedom Order takes effect,” Pai said. “In the months and years ahead, we look forward to working closely with the FTC to ensure the protection of a free and open internet.”
That last part is an interesting statement coming from the person who spearheadeddismantling Net Neutrality. AT&T did not give any comment on the case.
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