Swordsmyth
09-02-2018, 12:24 AM
California is closer than ever to restoring net neutrality. A bill to bring ease back into the hearts of California web surfers, SB-822 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB822), sailed through the state’s legislative bodies and is now heading to the governor’s desk (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-net-neutrality/california-lawmakers-send-strict-net-neutrality-laws-to-governor-idUSKCN1LH32N) for a signature.
Jerry Brown, who is a Democrat, has not said whether he intends to sign the bill — but Brown rarely comments on legislation before it arrives at his desk. By state law, the governor has 30 days to act on the legislation.
A bill enacting net neutrality protection would have important ramifications for the United States, since the U.S. Senate voted (https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00096) to reverse a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to kill national net neutrality rules set in place under the Obama administration. The Congressional Review Act seeks to overturn the December 2017 decision, but it still must go through the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the FCC’s quest to “restore internet freedom” is still slated to go live in June.
California’s bill aims to set net neutrality (https://www.digitaltrends.com/web/net-neutrality-timeline/) rules on a state level. The bill prohibits internet service providers from offering different quality of service levels outside specific conditions. It allows the state’s Attorney General to investigate and take action against those service providers in violation of the prohibitions.
According to Section 1776 of the bill, internet service providers cannot block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. Providers also cannot alter internet connections between devices and “lawful” sources, which would prevent throttling and paid fast lanes for specific media. The list goes on to include the ban of third-party paid prioritization, application-specific differential pricing, and more.
More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-pro-net-neutrality-bill-005409108.html
Jerry Brown, who is a Democrat, has not said whether he intends to sign the bill — but Brown rarely comments on legislation before it arrives at his desk. By state law, the governor has 30 days to act on the legislation.
A bill enacting net neutrality protection would have important ramifications for the United States, since the U.S. Senate voted (https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=2&vote=00096) to reverse a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to kill national net neutrality rules set in place under the Obama administration. The Congressional Review Act seeks to overturn the December 2017 decision, but it still must go through the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the FCC’s quest to “restore internet freedom” is still slated to go live in June.
California’s bill aims to set net neutrality (https://www.digitaltrends.com/web/net-neutrality-timeline/) rules on a state level. The bill prohibits internet service providers from offering different quality of service levels outside specific conditions. It allows the state’s Attorney General to investigate and take action against those service providers in violation of the prohibitions.
According to Section 1776 of the bill, internet service providers cannot block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. Providers also cannot alter internet connections between devices and “lawful” sources, which would prevent throttling and paid fast lanes for specific media. The list goes on to include the ban of third-party paid prioritization, application-specific differential pricing, and more.
More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-pro-net-neutrality-bill-005409108.html