AT&T faces complaint for blocking FaceTime on ... - Know Your Cell

Free Press, Public Knowledge and the New America Foundation?s Open Technology Institute on Tuesday notified AT&T Mobility that they will soon be filing a joint complaint with the FCC over the carrier's decision to block FaceTime over cellular. All three organizations allege that Ma Bell's new rules violate the FCC's network neutrality restrictions, which went into effect back in November of 2010.

If you recall, AT&T announced earlier this month that it will block customers from using FaceTime on iPhones and iPads unless they subscribe to "Mobile Share" data plans. These new "Mobile Share" plans are more expensive to consumers and allow for sharing of data between family members.

?AT&T?s decision to block FaceTime unless a customer pays for voice and text minutes she doesn?t need is a clear violation of the FCC?s Open Internet rules,? said Matt Wood, policy director of Free Press, in a statement. "It?s particularly outrageous that AT&T is requiring this for iPad and iPhone users, given that this device isn?t even capable of making voice calls.?

While consumers and fans of net neutrality may agree with Wood, it remains to be seen if AT&T will, in fact, be found in violation of net neutrality. Unfortunately, the FCC's rules are very lax and it will take quite a bit to prove what both organizations are alleging. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but I tend to think AT&T will be in the clear.

For more on this, stay tuned to Know Your Cell for the latest. We will surely be watching this and reporting on it as it unfolds in the coming weeks.

Via: FreePress.net

Source: GigaOM

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Source: http://www.knowyourcell.com/news/1595008/att_faces_complaint_for_blocking_facetime_on_iphones_ipads.html

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