State senate OKs net neutrality
Lawmakers approve a bill that aims to restore regulations repealed by the Federal Communications Commission
The California State Senate on Wednesday approved a net neutrality bill that has been called the “gold standard” of such bills in the nation, as states grapple with a controversial repeal of Obama-era federal rules meant to ensure an open internet.
The state senate voted 23 to 12 to adopt SB 822, the bill by State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in another rebuke to the Trump administration on this issue.
The majority-Republican Federal Communications Commission, led by Chairman Ajit Pai, who was named to his position by President Donald Trump, repealed the 2015 Open Internet Rules in December. Pai said the net neutrality rules amounted to government overreach and hurt broadband investment.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate voted to overturn the repeal, but the effort still has to go through the House and president. Some of those senators said the FCC ignored the will of the people. A recent poll by the University of Maryland showed that
86 percent of Americans opposed the repeal of net neutrality rules.
“Today the California State Senate read the writing on the wall, sided with the public, and voted to defy Ajit Pai and enact strong protections against ISP censorship and abuse,” Evan Greer, deputy director for advocacy group Fight for the Future, said in a statement Wednesday.
The measure now goes to the Assembly, where committee hearings begin in June. The Assembly must vote on the measure by the end of August.
California and other states, including New York, Washington and Montana, have established or are working to establish their own net neutrality rules since the FCC voted to repeal regulations prohibiting traffic discrimination by the companies that control the internet’s pipes.
Those companies, such as AT&T and Comcast, lobbied against the California bill. Along with a couple of other industry groups, they spent nearly $1 million during the first quarter to fight bills such as SB 822.
A Comcast spokeswoman said this week that the company would have
no comment about California’s bill, but pointed to Comcast’s previous statements that it does not block, slow or discriminate against internet content. AT&T said the bill could mean higher bills and could risk technological growth.
“We believe SB 822 is deeply flawed. It goes far beyond the 2015 FCC order and could lead to increased prices for consumers and potentially put thousands of local and state contracting jobs at risk. This could slow down innovation and stop California from being the global leader in technology,” said AT&T spokesman Steven Ramirez.
During discussion prior to the vote, Wiener addressed concerns about California going its own way on the issue that the opposition says should be handled on the federal level.
Sen. Ted Gaines, R-El Dorado, voted no after reading a statement from industry group USTelecom, which is worried about an “overlapping patchwork” of laws on net neutrality.
“I agree, this should be a federal matter,” Wiener said. “The reality is the federal government has abdicated its responsibility.”
Wiener acknowledged that a lot of work remains to get the bill through the Assembly. “But this is a major win in our fight to
re-instate net neutrality in California,” Wiener said in a statement after the vote. “I want to thank the enormous grassroots coalition that is fighting tooth and nail to help pass SB 822 and protect a free and open internet.”
One of those groups is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Its legislative counsel, Ernesto Falcon, this week called Wiener’s bill “the gold standard of state laws” on net neutrality, echoing other sentiment that SB 822 is the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation.
SB 822 prohibits internet service providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic. It also takes aim at “zero rating,” in which internet providers exempt content, sites and services from data caps. Wiener called such practices manipulative and anti-competitive.
Wiener’s bill is also supported by former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler — who drafted the federal rules that current FCC commissioners overturned — state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the mayors of California’s biggest cities and dozens of public advocacy groups.