Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli may also challenge the FCC’s...

a development that is likely still several months away. Challenges are also expected from net neutrality proponents like Free Press who don’t think the rules go far enough. Cuccinelli called the rules, approved by the FCC in December, the “most egregious of all violations of federal law” and said he would work with attorneys general from other states on an appeal, according to the Times. “The claim that the federal government has never before been charged with overseeing the on-ramps to the Internet is patently untrue,” said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood, in response to Cuccinelli’s threats to challenge the rules in court. “The Internet grew under, and flourished because of, rules that stopped companies like AT&T from discriminating against applications like Skype.” Media Access Project Senior Vice President Andrew Schwartzman questioned whether a state attorney general has legal standing to file a successful appeal. “This seems like grandstanding to me,” Schwartzman said Monday. “The legal standing of states to challenge the FCC’s decision is questionable, as it is hard to see how the states are harmed by the FCC’s action. And it is hard to imagine that the cable and phone companies are unable to defend themselves.” Cuccinelli’s office did not return calls seeking comment by our deadline. Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld also questioned whether the Virginia attorney general would have standing to challenge the order. “This has all the appearance of political grandstanding now that network neutrality has joined ‘Obamacare’ in the pantheon of things the conservative base loves to hate,” Feld said. “There is certainly nothing that would stop other state AGs from joining a lawsuit. It seems unlikely that it would add anything.”