At T Responds To Facetime Controversy Says It Is Allowed To Block Facetime Because It Is A Pre Installed App

AT&T just put up a lengthy response to the FaceTime controversy it started when it announced that only users of its new, more expensive Mobile Share Plans may use Apple’s feature. In short, AT&T says it is not bound by FCC Net Neutrality laws on FaceTime because it is a pre-installed App and can be disabled to the carrier’s liking.

If FaceTime was a downloadable app, AT&T would be forced by FCC Net Neutrality laws to allow it to work properly.

By those measures, AT&T could block Google Hangouts on Android phones and Microsoft’s soon to be pre-installed Skype application on Windows 8 too.

Former lawyer Nilay Patel from The Verge had this to say:

[tweet https://twitter.com/reckless/status/238262079629430784]

[tweet https://twitter.com/reckless/status/238262588511768576]

If you feel AT&T should rethink this policy, perhaps signing the petition makes sense.

Advocacy group Public Knowledge has this to say:

…Senator Al Franken also says it is the wrong thing to do:

“‘Over-the-top’ communications services like FaceTime are a threat to carriers’ revenue, but they should respond by competing with these services and not by engaging in discriminatory behavior.”

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