[ad_1]
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra reached an agreement Friday with the telecom groups currently suing California for its recently adopted network neutrality law, which could delay implementation until the end of the year. to next year.
The agreement between the Becerra office and the telecommunication groups, which must be approved by a judge, prevents network neutrality in California from going into effect as long as another lawsuit fails. has not yet been brought against the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for canceling the rules of neutrality of the network of the Obama era. is resolved.
The agreement also suspends the lawsuit against California for attempting to establish state-level network neutrality protection for California's 40 million people.
The lawsuit in California is inextricably linked to the outcome of the DC case, currently being heard by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Si circuit, in which case one judge believes that the FCC has exceeded its authority by canceling the Open Internet Order of 2015, California's law on internet neutrality will no longer matter. And the lawsuit brought against California by the country's largest telecommunications providers will prove useless.
It is also possible that the federal case will only overturn certain parts of the FCC rules, such as the provision to prevent states from establishing their own network neutrality laws. Such a decision would have dramatic consequences for the California lawsuit – one of the two main arguments against California is that FCC rules take precedence over state laws.
The lawsuit against the FCC is simply several months ahead of the case against California. In other words, suing California would be a huge waste of taxpayer money.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that FCC President Ajit Pai was pleased with the deal, saying it was "a substantial concession." [reflecting] the strength of the case presented by the United States earlier this month. "
In a statement, Bacerra reaffirmed that his office remained committed to adopting net neutrality in California. "Every action we take, every action we launch aims to put us in the best possible position to preserve the neutrality of the internet for the 40 million inhabitants of our state," he said. -he declares. "We are fighting the Trump Administration's attempt to repeal network neutrality in the DC Circuit Court and we will vigorously defend California's network neutrality law."
A spokesman for the Attorney General told Gizmodo: "Today's reprieve represents a pause in our lawsuit to allow us to advocate for the defense of California's network neutrality on behalf of our 40 million inhabitants ".
It is unclear when the distribution channel deal will be resolved, but a decision could take several months, which could result in mid-2019. The Trump administration can also appeal any adverse decision to the US Supreme Court, which is not obliged to hear the case. Moreover, if the Democrats regain control of the FCC in 2021, the legal battles against net neutrality could last several more years.
For the moment, Californian residents who hoped to regain the net neutrality protections they had lost in the 2016 election will simply have to wait.
In a statement, California State Senator Scott Wiener, chief author of the California Law on Internet Neutrality, SB 822, said that although he was keen to see the law enter into force immediately he understood and supported Becerra's decision. "Once the call on the DC circuit has been resolved, the California Internet neutrality law dispute will continue," he said.
"Especially in light of the Trump administration's decision to end the federal protections of net neutrality, California has the power – indeed, the responsibility – to protect the Internet access of our residents, businesses, first responders, health care providers and others, "said Wiener. . "This fight is about protecting the health, safety and vitality of our state. Internet neutrality ensures open access to the Internet and ensures that each of us can decide where to go on the Internet, unlike Internet Service Providers who make that decision for us. "
"I am counting on successful lawsuits on this issue," he added, "as well as the re-establishment of strong net neutrality protections in our state."
Source link
