A federal appeals court has upheld California’s net neutrality law.rejecting attempts by telecom industry groups to stop the state from implementing it.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the previous ruling, which means the status quo remains and the state can continue to enforce the law. This means that California could continue to impose restrictions on Internet providers that can slow or block access to websites and applications that do not pay for premium service.
California’s net neutrality law was signed in 2018 by former Gov. Jerry Brown. It came after regulators during the Trump administration struck down federal net neutrality rules designed to prevent AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other major Internet providers from exploiting their dominance in favor of certain services. apps on others.
In response, seven states and Puerto Rico created their own net neutrality policies. The most widespread such effort was in California, which began enforcing the law last year, with potentially significant consequences for the rest of the US.
The Trump administration sued to block California’s 2018 law from taking effect for years, but the Biden administration dropped that lawsuit.
On Friday, proponents of net neutrality applauded the court’s decision but called for federal net neutrality laws.
“This victory is significant because it protects people in our most populous state and advances the national conversation,” said Matt Wood, vice president of policy and general counsel for the consumer advocacy group Free Press. “Yet overwhelming, we still need the Biden FCC to reclaim its authority not only for nationwide open-Internet rules, but for policies that promote affordable, flexible, equitable and fair Internet connections for all.” To be.”
Big telecom companies have opposed the stringent rule that comes with the rules of net neutrality and strongly opposed it in the court. They say the regulations could undermine investment in broadband and introduce uncertainty about acceptable business practices.
They say they prefer a national approach to a state-by-state one, but the industry has battled former federal net neutrality rules. But with the Senate split 50-50 between the parties, Congress may not get enough support to pass the law.
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