Senator Backtracking After Ajit Pai Calls California's Network Neutrality Bill "Radical" and "Illegal" – TechCrunch



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President of the FCC Ajit Pai Sen. Scott Wiener (D-CA), in response, said that Senator Scott Wiener (D-CA), in response, stated that the new Net neutrality legislation has "abdicated responsibility for ensuring an internet open "and the fact that the FCC does not have the power to intervene.

The political war was launched this morning in Pai's remarks at the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a think tank on the free market. You can read them in full here, but I quoted the corresponding part below:

Of course, those who demand greater government control over the Internet have not given up. Their latest tactic is pushing state governments to regulate the Internet. The most egregious example comes from California. Last month, the California state legislature passed a radical consumer anti-internet bill that would impose even greater restrictions than those adopted by the FCC in 2015.

If this law is signed by the governor, what would it do? Among other things, this would prevent Californian consumers from buying many free data packages. These plans allow consumers to stream video, music and more without any data limitations. They have proved extremely popular in the market, especially among low-income Americans. But California lawmakers in the United States apparently want to ban their voters from having that choice. They met the enemy and they are free data.

The more general problem is that micromanagement in California poses a risk to the rest of the country. After all, broadband is an interstate service; Internet traffic does not recognize the status lines. It follows that only the federal government can establish a regulatory policy in this area. Because if individual states like California regulate the Internet, it will have a direct impact on the citizens of other states.

This is one of the reasons why efforts like California are illegal.

The hurdle of banning zero-rating plans has been raised many times, but everyone should understand now that this is a sham – just another telecom ploy to spread the data as they wish.

The legal issue is far from settled, but Mr Pai has referred to a recent court decision for a week or so, although it has very little to do with net neutrality. Ars Technica went into detail about this decision; This is the fact that although it is possible for the FCC to preempt the state information services law in some cases, it is not at all certain that it has the least power to on broadband services. Ironically, this is because the FCC of Pai has dramatically reduced the FCC's skill in reclassifying broadband in the restoration of Internet freedom.

In any case, disputes and more important legal issues are still ongoing, so Pai's jubilation is a bit premature.

"The Internet should be run by engineers, contractors and technologists, not lawyers, bureaucrats and politicians," he said. So it is strange that these same engineers, contractors and technologists almost unanimously oppose his policy, whereas he – literally a few seconds earlier – justified this policy by the world of lawyers, bureaucrats and politicians .

Senator Wiener was quick to correct the remarks of the President. In an official statement, he explained that "unlike the FCC of Pai, California is not managed by major telecommunications and cable companies."

SB 822 is necessary and legal because President Pai has waived his responsibility to guarantee an open internet. Given that the FCC no longer has the power to protect an open Internet, the FCC does not have the legal authority to prevent states from protecting their residents and their economies.

When Verizon was caught choking the data connection of a firefighting team in California, President Pai said nothing and did nothing. This silence says a lot more than his words today.

The SB 822 is supported by a broad coalition of consumer groups, advocacy groups of low-income people, small and medium-sized technology companies, unions and the president of the FCC, president of President Obama, Tom Wheeler. I will take this support on Ajit Pai no matter what day of the week.

The law in question has been approved by the state legislature but still has to be signed by Governor Jerry Brown, who still has two weeks to review it.

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