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In what comes as a major blow to opponents of net neutrality, the state of California has succeeded in passing a bill that would effectively protect a free and open internet, joining four states including Washington and Oregon in doing so. The senate voted to save net neutrality back in May after the Federal Communications Commission led by Trump-appointee Ajit Pai repealed Obama-era regulations last year.
If the California Governor Jerry Brown passes the bill, it would prohibit internet service providers such as AT&T and Comcast from tampering with web traffic to California broadband customers, and make certain that consumers cannot be charged extra for streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu.
Per the New York Times, the landmark bill includes measures even “stronger and more consumer-friendly” than those previously put in place by the Obama administration. As of now 30 total states have introduced bills to save net neutrality, as well as state governors in New York and Montana signing executive orders to ensure that communications providers must treat all data on the internet equally.
“When Donald Trump’s F.C.C. decided to take a wrecking ball to net neutrality protections, we knew that California had to step in to ensure our residents have access to a free and open internet,” State Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat and one of the bill’s authors, said in a statement.
The bill was passed in a large margin by the State Senate on Friday, and now democratic Governor Brown has until the end of September to make a decision.
(Via New York Times)
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