California Introduced Legislation To Preserve Net Neutrality, Defies FCC

Aside from Montana and New York, the Federal Communications Commission can now count on California as part of a growing number of states showing open defiance over the agency’s decision to gut Net Neutrality. The state just introduced new bills that are intended to stop internet service providers from discriminating against content and playing god with the service.

One of the bills is still being drafted and is the work of Sen. Scott Wiener. The other was proposed by Sen. Kevin de León, which actually already passed and is expected to take effect soon, the San Francisco Chronicles reports. The bills are basically intended to make sure that ISPs are unable to block content of any kind for as long as they are in compliance with the law.

The bills also address the matter of throttling, which is a huge concern for users. If ISPs are able to slow down the internet connections to certain services in order to encourage customers to switch to others, it would be a major problem. It’s also a trend that was already proven possible in the past.

On top of making sure that carriers are unable to engage directly in unethical business practices, at least as far as the internet goes, ISPs are also going to be prohibited from using any type of marketing strategy “that misrepresent[s] the treatment of Internet traffic or content to its customers.”

This means that any unfavorable changes that carriers want to make with regards to their services will need to be publicly announced, Futurism notes. This would then allow consumers to make a more informed decision with regards to which company they choose.

Now, the case with the California bills and the executive orders in New York and Montana differ in terms of context. The bills are basically a shot across the bow by the two Senators while the executive orders present a more tactical approach.