CA Passes Net Neutrality Proposal

Nearly nine months after federal regulators voted to do away with net neutrality rules instituted under the Obama administration, state lawmakers are on the verge of bringing them back to California.

According to The L-A Times, the state Senate on Friday sent a broad proposal to Gov. Jerry Brown that would prevent broadband and wireless companies from favoring some websites over others by charging for faster speeds and from blocking, throttling or otherwise hindering access to content.

lawmakers said California should be setting the national standard on internet policy and vowed to persuade the governor to sign the legislation, calling it vital to the state’s resistance to the Trump administration. 

Scott Wiener

Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who introduced the bill, said this was not “a battle of the titans,” or Facebook versus AT&T, as characterized by the telecom industry. It was a battle to level the playing field for small and mid-sized businesses, activists and others who couldn’t pay their way out of internet “slow lanes,” he said.

“Fundamentally, net neutrality is that we as individuals get to decide where to go on the internet as opposed to being told,” Wiener said, echoing his comments on the Senate floor.

The legislation moved out with a 27-12 vote and little debate, capping months of aggressive feuding between tech advocates and telecom industry lobbyists.

Legislators clashed on the Assembly floor a day earlier over whether the state should step in to fill a role some said was best left to the federal government. To opponents, the rules represented burdensome, harsh regulations on companies; for proponents, they were strong and necessary protections for consumers.

On Friday, tech activists and advocacy groups hailed the passage as a landmark move toward fair and free access to the internet, saying other states were sure to follow.

Telecom industry groups and lobbyists warned the bill would be challenged in federal court.

California is one of 29 states to consider net neutrality protections since the Federal Communications Commission voted late last year to reverse the Obama-era internet regulations. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who was appointed by President Trump, and Republicans have called for an end to the utility-like oversight of internet service providers.