On Wednesday afternoon Free Press filed a legal challenge to the Open Internet rules recently published by the Federal Communications Commission.

The rules were intended to restrict Internet providers from blocking or slowing Internet traffic, but, according to Free Press’ petition, they don't go far enough to guarantee openness for the growing population of people who access the Internet using wireless devices.

"When the FCC first proposed the Open Internet rules, they came with the understanding that there is only one Internet, no matter how people choose to reach it," said Matt Wood, Free Press’ policy director.

"The final rules provide some basic protections for consumers, but do not deliver on the promise to preserve openness for mobile Internet access. They fail to protect wireless users from discrimination, and they let mobile providers block innovative applications with impunity."

Free Press believes that the FCC has thus far failed to justify this arbitrary distinction between wired and wireless Internet access.

"The disparity that the FCC's rules create is unjust and unjustified," said Wood. "And it's especially problematic because of the increasing popularity of wireless, along with its increasing importance for younger demographics and diverse populations who rely on mobile devices as their primary means for getting online."

Free Press will fight in court to make these rules stronger, even as we work elsewhere to uphold the FCC's crucial role in promoting and protecting openness on the Internet.

Free Press, which is based in Florence, Massachusetts, filed its lawsuit in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.