If AT&T's newest blatant hypocrisy doesn't get you a little rankled, then you have tougher skin than we do. AT&T is back in the news basically thumbing their noses at the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) again. To reiterate, in the fall, the FTC sued AT&T for misleading its customers. The FTC's complaint hinges on the fact that AT&T charges its customers for "unlimited" data plans, yet reduces their data speeds by as much as 90 percent if they use too much of their “unlimited” data.
Not only is that obviously hypocritical, their most recent statement aimed at the FTC is even worse. Here's a quote with the details,
“AT&T plainly qualifies as a ‘common carrier’ for purposes of Section 5 because it provides mobile voice services subject to common-carrier regulation under Title II of the Communications Act,” AT&T wrote. “The fact that AT&T’s mobile data services are not regulated as common-carrier services under the Communications Act is irrelevant. The text, structure, history, and purpose of Section 5 leave no doubt that its common-carrier exemption turns on an entity’s ‘status as a common carrier subject to [an Act to regulate commerce],’ not its ‘activities subject to regulation under that Act.’”
So basically, AT&T is saying that the FTC doesn't have the authority to regulate them because they are a common carrier protected by the Title II classification of the FCC. Yet, out of the other side of their face, they have been desperately lobbying to make sure the FCC doesn't classify their Internet service under Title II.
You can't have it both ways. AT&T's shenanigans would make Emperor Palpatine's head spin...
Source: AT T defends unlimited data throttling says the FTC can t stop it Ars Technica