AT&T pushes back on $100 million throttling fine

By

at&t
AT&T is at war with the FCC.
Photo: AT&T

AT&T is asking the FCC to not make it pay the largest proposed fine in the agency’s history as punishment for throttling customers’ data speeds.

After being slammed with the $100 million fine by the FCC last month when the government agency found the carrier had throttled speeds for customers with ‘unlimited’ data plans, AT&T says it didn’t really harm anyone, so it shouldn’t have to pay up.

“The Commission’s findings that consumers and competition were harmed are devoid of factual support and wholly implausible,” AT&T wrote in a response to the FCC, first spotted by The Hill. “Its ‘moderate’ forfeiture penalty of $100 million is plucked out of thin air, and the injunctive sanctions it proposes are beyond the Commission’s authority.”

AT&T has asked that any fine leveled against it not exceed $16,000, while also suggesting that the FCC halt enforcement of non-monetary penalties until the courts can weigh in on their legality.

The FCC ruled in June that AT&T deliberately slowed data speeds of unlimited data plans below that of other customers, which violated transparency obligations set in place back in 2010 by the agency’s old net neutrality rules.

Along with the historic fine, the FCC ordered AT&T to correct misleading statements to customers and notify unlimited data plan customers that it violated the transparency rule. AT&T has also balked at those requests, claiming the FCC doesn’t have the authority to make the requests because the statute of limitations on the violations already lapsed.

Via: The Hill

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.