Gov. Jerry Brown signed net neutrality into law for the state of California on September 30. The law imposes rules similar to those previously enforced by the FCC under its open internet rule, which Trump's FCC overturned last year. Trump's Department of Justice, hours after Brown signed the law, filed suit against the state to block it.
California's new law would prohibit internet service providers from blocking or throttling legal internet traffic or from imposing pay for play fees on websites or services either to deliver or to prioritize their traffic to consumers. It would ban paid data cap exemptions and blocks ISPs from trying to evade net neutrality protections by slowing down traffic at network interconnection points.
That just can't stand, says Attorney general Jeff Sessions, who sniffed that the department was having to "spend valuable time and resources to file this suit," but did so because" we have a duty to defend the prerogatives of the federal government and protect our Constitutional order." States' rights, except for when the state is California and the rights go to the people rather than the corporations.
Trump's little toad at the FCC, Ajit Pai, chimed in about how we was looking "forward to working with my colleagues and the Department of Justice" in not doing his job at all, but instead "to ensure the Internet remains 'unfettered by Federal or State regulation.'"
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra welcomes the fight. "While the Trump Administration continues to ignore the millions of Americans who voiced strong support for net neutrality rules, California—home to countless start-ups, tech giants and nearly 40 million consumers—will not allow a handful of power brokers to dictate sources for information or the speed at which websites load," he said. "We remain deeply committed to protecting freedom of expression, innovation and fairness."
No comments: