California Governor Jerry Brown has approved the US’ strongest law regulating the Internet, prompting a lawsuit by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Advocates of the regulations — known as “net neutrality” — say California’s law, which Brown signed on Sunday to stop Internet providers from favoring certain content or Web sites, might push the US Congress to enact national rules or encourage other states to create their own.
However, the US Department of Justice moved to halt the law from taking effect, saying that it creates burdensome, anti-consumer requirements that go against the federal government’s approach to deregulating the Internet.
Photo: AP
“Once again, the California Legislature has enacted an extreme and illegal state law attempting to frustrate federal policy,” US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
The US Federal Communications Commission last year repealed rules put in place by the administration of former US president Barack Obama that prevented Internet companies from exercising more control over what people watch and see online.
Brown did not explain his reasons for signing the bill or comment on the federal lawsuit on Sunday.
Supporters of the new law said it as a win for Internet freedom.
It is set to take effect on Jan. 1.
“This is a historic day for California. A free and open Internet is a cornerstone of 21st-century life: Our democracy, our economy, our healthcare and public safety systems, and day-to-day activities,” said US Senator Scott Wiener, the author of the rules.
They prohibit Internet providers from blocking or slowing data based on content or from favoring Web sites or video streams from companies that pay extra.
Telecommunications companies lobbied to defeat the bill or water it down, saying it would lead to higher Internet and cellphone charges, and discourage investments in faster Internet.
They said it is unrealistic to expect them to comply with Internet regulations that differ from state to state.
USTelecom, a telecommunications trade group, said California writing its own rules would create problems.
“Rather than 50 states stepping in with their own conflicting open-Internet solutions, we need Congress to step up with a national framework for the whole Internet ecosystem and resolve this issue once and for all,” the group said in a statement.
Advocates of the rules say that without them, Internet providers could create fast lanes and slow lanes that favor their own sites and apps, or make it harder for consumers to see content from competitors.
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