Net neutrality bill passes California Assembly; State Senate next then on to Gov. Brown (UPDATE)
After passing through the California State Assembly's Communications and Conveyance Committee earlier this month, the bill known as SB822 has passed the entire State Assembly. This bill will make net neutrality the law in California, preventing ISPs and wireless carriers from offering content providers a "fast lane" that they can pay to use. It also stops internet service providers and wireless operators from blocking or throttling content that they don't agree with.
UPDATE:SB822 passes the California State Assembly which means that it now goes to the Governor's desk to be signed. California is the first state to legislate net neutrality.
Earlier this year, the Trump-era FCC removed the net neutrality rules from the books to the chagrin of most Americans. Net neutrality was first passed into existence by the Obama-era FCC in 2015. The rules essentially force all streamed content to be treated the same. SB822 is also a little stricter than the original version of net neutrality, because it also prevents content providers from paying companies like Comcast or AT&T to have their streams distributed with a zero rating.
Dozens of other states are looking to pull this end run around the FCC and the Trump administration by legislating net neutrality and making it a state law. Needless to say, the entire issue has become politicized with several Democrats expected to make net neutrality a campaign issue during the upcoming mid-term elections.
Now that it has passed the California State Assembly, SB822 moves on to the State Senate where it should have no difficulty passing. From there, it is on to the desk of California governor Jerry Brown, who is widely expected to sign it into law.
source: Variety
Popular stories
Latest News
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: