California Defends Its Net Neutrality Law

California filed a brief in the lawsuit by the United States and Internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast that seeks to overturn California’s net neutrality law. SB 822, which was signed into law in September 2018, is the only state law that comprehensively restores all the net neutrality protections from the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order. At issue is whether any state can protect its residents from misbehavior by the companies they pay to get online, and thanks to the United States' and the ISPs’ sweeping arguments, even whether states can regulate any online services, including enacting online privacy laws. There are 3 main issues in the ISPs’ and US’s request for an injunction: 

1. Is there a conflict between the FCC’s decision to eliminate its net neutrality protections and the state’s decision to bring it back for Californians? The answer is no.
2. Does the Communications Act ban states from regulating any online service at all? This is a sweeping argument that the FCC didn’t even make in its repeal of net neutrality. It is contrary to the case law, and the Communications Act wasn’t written to do so.
3. ISPs have to prove two big points: one, that they are likely to win the lawsuit, and two, that without an injunction, they would suffer irreparable harm.