22 states ask court to restore net neutrality regulations

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 file photo, Demonstrators rally in support of net neutrality outside a Verizon store in New York. Consumers aren’t likely to see immediate changes following Monday, June 11, 2018 formal repeal of Obama-era internet rules that had ensured equal treatment for all. Rather, any changes are likely to happen slowly, and companies will try to make sure that consumers are on board with the moves, experts say. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Net neutrality regulations officially died on June 11, but the fight to revive them rages on.

A group of attorneys general from 22 states filed a brief Monday night urging a US appeals court to reinstate the 2015 Open Internet Order, which prohibited internet service providers (ISPs) from engaging in practices such as blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization. The brief is part of an ongoing lawsuit initially filed in January following the FCC's vote to repeal net neutrality.

Led by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, the group includes AGs representing California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and numerous other populous states comprising more than 165 million Americans. The brief states that the FCC's order to roll back net neutrality rules is "arbitrary and capricious" because it puts consumers at risk of abusive practices, and that the order unlawfully preempts state and local regulations.

"A free and open internet is critical to New York—and to our democracy. By repealing net neutrality, the FCC is allowing internet service providers to put their profits before consumers while controlling what we see, do, and say online," said Attorney General Underwood.

Earlier this year, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order that requires state governments to secure a net neutrality pledge before inking deals with any internet service providers. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock did the same.

This lawsuit is one of several efforts to fight the FCC's ruling. In May, the US Senate narrowly voted to reverse the rollback, but the measure has not been voted on in the House. If it ever made it to President Trump's desk, meanwhile, he'd be unlikely to approve it. Trump appointed current FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who has been vocal in his support for the net neutrality rollback.

Tech companies have also gone to bat for net neutrality. Companies including Mozilla, Vimeo, and Etsy have filed their own legal challenge to overturn the FCC's decision. Sites including Reddit and Tumblr also participated in the #OneMoreVote campaign back in February.

The fight to bring back net neutrality is far from over, but in the meantime, you might want to invest in a VPN.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.