The Biden administration dropped that lawsuit
earlier this month. But in a separate lawsuit,
the telecom industry asked a federal judge to
keep blocking the law. U.S. District Court Judge
John A. Mendez denied their request, allowing
California to begin enforcing the law.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat
from San Francisco and the author of the law,
called the ruling “a huge victory for open access to
the internet, our democracy and our economy.”
“The internet is at the heart of modern life.
We all should be able to decide for ourselves
where we go on the internet and how we access
information,” Wiener said. “We cannot allow big
corporations to make those decisions for us.”
In a joint statement, multiple telecom industry
associations said they will review the judge’s
decision “before deciding on next steps.” They
urged Congress to set net-neutrality rules for the
country rather than relying on states to come up
with regulations on their own.
“A state-by-state approach to Internet regulation
will confuse consumers and deter innovation,
just as the importance of broadband for all
has never been more apparent,” read the
statement from the Cellular Telecommunications
and Internet Association, ACA Connects, the
National Cable and Telecommunications
Association and USTelecom.
California’s law was spurred by the Federal
Communications Commission’s 2017 decision
to repeal net-neutrality rules that applied
nationwide. The telecom industry fought
hard against the bill, arguing it would
discourage companies from investing in
faster internet speeds.
Image: Lorie Leilani Shelley