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Radio News: States try to bring net neutrality back
Feb 01, 2018 10:50 pm
Karl Bode reports at TechDirt that several states are considering legislation to keep net neutrlity in their borders, even though the FCC's order rolling back those rules prohibited states from exactly that. New York and Wyoming have done something different. Governors in those states signed executive orders barring those state governments from doing business with any Internet company not following the old net neutrality rules guaranteeing consumers equal access to the Internet for consumers without excess charges or special fees for faster service. But Rhode Island, Washington state, and California, are just trying to reinstate the old rules within their borders. California, for instance, just passed SB-460 21-12, prohibiting ISPs from paid prioritization and other anti-competitive acts. But states do not regulate the airwaves, Internet airwaves included. Ernesto Falcon at the Electronic Frontier Foundation says California legislators ignored his group's recommendations to avoid endangering the new law in court. So while California is currently suing the FCC over the net neutrality rollback, ISPs will likely soon be suing California if it passes this new law bringing net neutrality back to the state.