Lawmakers vote to pass toughest net neutrality law

approaches. Governor Brown should use his veto pen on this legislation, and Congress should step in to legislate and provide consumer protections that will resolve this issue once and for all,” Jonathan Spalter, chief executive of Ustelecom, an industry trade group.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai had been a longtime critic of the net neutrality rules. Approved under Democratic chairman Tom Wheeler in 2015, the federal regulations banned providers from blocking or slowing internet content, and paved the way for tough new digital privacy protections for consumers.

The new limitations provoked a loud outcry from internet providers such as Verizon and Comcast, who argued they would add unnecessary costs to their business and prevent them from investing in upgrades to their networks. Consumer groups argued the rules were a vital consumer protection at a time when internet providers are focused on buying up media companies and establishing Facebook-like businesses that mine customer data for advertising purposes.

Pai, who was appointed by President Donald Trump last year to head the commission, made one of his first acts a plan to roll back the Obamaera regulations. He sided with the broadband industry, adding that the net neutrality rules were an example of unlawful government overreach.

Pai’s critics have launched a multipronged effort to reverse that move, filing lawsuits in federal court, demanding a congressional vote to overrule the FCC and pushing for state legislation – such as California’s.

Consumer groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a number of smaller tech companies including Etsy, Reddit and Sonos lined up in favor of the bill. Broadband industry-backed groups such as Calinnovates and the Congress of California Seniors argued against it. A gay-marriage supporter flies a rainbow flag during a rally in Seattle in March 2013.