Montana Governor Goes Rogue, Defies Trump Admin To Protect Net Neutrality

Several cities and states are already fighting the Federal Communications Commission in its campaign to destroy Net Neutrality. They are doing so either through lawsuits or in the case of Montana Governor Steve Bullock, signing an executive order directly preserving a free and open internet. With this move, internet service providers (ISP) will not be able to violate Net Neutrality rules even if it is repealed.

The core concept behind Net Neutrality is basically just to prevent internet carriers from playing god with the service. ISPs should not be allowed to throttle certain services in favor of others or offer faster speeds to companies that pay them more money. As The New York Times reports, this will have an immediate effect on the ability of internet companies from conducting anti-consumer practices.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that this executive order only applies to Montana. Any ISP with a contract with the state will need to abide by these rules. Consumers in other parts of the country, however, will need to contact their leaders if they want to be afforded the same level of protection.

As to how Governor Bullock is even allowed to sign such an executive order despite the FCC preventing states from interfering with its decisions on Net Neutrality, it apparently hinges on a loophole. The executive order applies to contracts. It doesn’t apply to any specific provider. This could give other governors a reason to follow suit.

As Futurism notes, the fight for Net Neutrality is being fought on several fronts. Right now, 49 Senate Democrats and one Republican are trying to force a shutdown of the issue by permanently blocking the FCC from making changes to the Obama-era rules. They only need one more vote to get the majority, which will mean the difference between a free internet or the WWW becoming the Wild Wild West.