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A host of states and lobby groups want courts to overturn the Trump administration’s decision to scrap the regulations.
 
The news: According to Reuters, several industry groups representing giant tech firms like Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet (which owns Google) filed a legal challenge today calling for the reinstatement of net neutrality rules. Scrapped in June by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the rules prevented internet service providers like Verizon and AT&T from blocking or slowing selected web services.
 
Why this matters: Now that net neutrality is no more, the providers can charge premiums for internet fast lanes—giving an advantage to deep-pocketed large companies over small startups. They can also deliver their own content faster than that of rival services from web companies and others.
 
Hot topic: Verizon was criticized recently for throttling data services to firefighters battling wildfires in California. It said this happened because data caps had been exceeded, and the limits for first responders have since been lifted. But some California lawmakers have seized on the negative publicity to bolster their case for a state net neutrality regime.
 
State backlash: Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia, which collectively represent about half the US population, recently filed a motion to revive the net neutrality rules too. Looks like the FCC’s lawyers are going to be busy fighting multiple legal fires this fall.

Deep Dive

Computing

Inside the hunt for new physics at the world’s largest particle collider

The Large Hadron Collider hasn’t seen any new particles since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. Here’s what researchers are trying to do about it.

Why China is betting big on chiplets

By connecting several less-advanced chips into one, Chinese companies could circumvent the sanctions set by the US government.

How Wi-Fi sensing became usable tech

After a decade of obscurity, the technology is being used to track people’s movements.

VR headsets can be hacked with an Inception-style attack

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