Net neutrality bill moving ahead in California

SB 822 prohibits blocking or throttling traffic and takes aim at “zero rating”

An effort to restore net neutrality protections in California moved forward Tuesday despite loud opposition by internet service providers and others.

SB 822, written by State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is being touted as the most comprehensive state-level net neutrality bill in the nation as states scramble ahead of the repeal of federal rules taking effect next week.

Not all votes are in, but the bill is expected to pass the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and head to the Judiciary Committee.

Wiener’s bill is backed by Tom Wheeler, the former Federal Communications Commission chairman who wrote the 2015 Open Internet Order;

Wiener

California State Attorney General Xavier Becerra; the mayors of California’s biggest cities; and dozens of public advocacy groups, including the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The federal rules protecting net neutrality, the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally, were repealed in a 3-2 vote in December by the majority-Republican FCC.

Among other things, SB 822 prohibits blocking or throttling internet traffic, and takes aim at “zero rating,” in which internet providers exempt certain con-

tent, sites and services from data caps.

The broadband industry opposes state-level efforts on net neutrality, and on Tuesday it was joined in opposing the bill by the California Chamber of Commerce and others.

Among the concerns voiced by the groups opposed to the bill: They think it will hurt ISP business and therefore broadband deployment in rural areas. They’re also worried that its provisions limiting peering agreements give an edge to big tech companies such as Netflix, to the detriment of ISPs.

“This bill guarantees unfettered access to large bandwidth users,” said Carolyn McIntyre, president of the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, during Tuesday’s hearing.

She and others opposed to the bill — Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile all were represented at the hearing — warned of the possibility that broadband-improvement costs would be passed on to consumers.

Sen. Anthony Cannella, RCeres, asked who would pay for broadband network upgrades. “It’s not like these ISPs have unlimited money.”

“Actually, they do,” Wiener responded.

The vote is not final yet because two members of the committee were absent, but there were enough votes, 6 to 3, for the bill. One absent committee member, Sen. Nancy Skinner, is a co-sponsor of the measure.

“The amendments crafted today with the committee maintain all key provisions of the bill intact,” Wiener said in a statement Tuesday. “The bill fully protects net neutrality in California.”

In other news Tuesday, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, announced that she would be stepping down. Her departure leaves only one Democrat — and net neutrality advocate — on the FCC.