Snubbing FCC, States Are Writing Their Own Net Neutrality Laws

Along with pursuing lawsuits over irregularities in the Federal Communications Commission network neutrality comments process (like millions of fake citizen comments being submitted), several states are crafting their own net neutrality laws, which they will start debating as new legislative sessions commence in Jan. They would prohibit internet service providers from blocking or hindering access to legal online content sources, or from offering premium-bandwidth “fast lane” deals to others. Washington State was first to act, with Democratic and Republican state representatives debuting nearly identical bills back on December 13 and 14.

Such bipartisanship is rare. In most cases, the charge is led by Democrats, often with anti-Trump overtones. “I would say California and New York are two deep-blue states where Donald Trump is the least popular president in modern history,” says New York state senator Brad Hoylman, who represents a large chunk of Manhattan. He’s teaming up with Wiener, whose district includes all of San Francisco, to craft legislation that each state can use. “We have very similar constituencies in many regards, including technology and immigrants and LGBT folks,” says Hoylman. It would be hard to find a bluer coalition. In all, 22 states have introduced some legislation responding to the rollback of ISP privacy regulations.