The Network Neutrality Bill in California goes up to Brown



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The governor of California, Jerry Brown, has until Sunday evening to follow up on a measure that would restore the rules of the open Internet of Obama in the state, which would be a direct challenge to the restoration of the network.

Last month, California Republicans joined the Democrats of the state legislature to approve what the experts consider the country's most stringent provisions for internet neutrality. The bill would prohibit ISPs from blocking websites, intentionally slowing down a website or application, or accepting payments to speed up services.

The Democratic governor did not comment on what he is likely to do. If he does not sign or does not apply his veto at midnight on Sunday, he will automatically become law.

Brown, who will be dismissed in January after eight years as governor, acts on most bills rather than letting them go automatically. The state legislature has not ignored the veto of the governor since 1979. The Democrats control both the Senate and the Assembly.

How could the Internet change after the abrogation of net neutrality? Could websites be slower? Blocked? Ryan Knutson of the WSJ travels in the future to explain some possible scenarios.

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission overturned similar federal rules passed during the Obama administration. FCC President Ajit Pai said earlier this month that California's measure was "illegal".

A spokesperson for the FCC did not respond to a request for comment.

At a recent rally in San Francisco, Democratic Senator Scott Wiener, who represented the city and drafted the law, urged the governor to sign the measure.

"It really is about access to an open Internet," said Mr. Wiener. "The Internet is not a kind of luxury that you can have or not, and it does not matter. The Internet is at the heart of 21st century life. "

The Net Neutrality Bill was generally supported by major Internet companies, while internet providers lobbied aggressively against the California measure, arguing that it was a government excesses and could create a patchwork of regulations.

The governors of six states – Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Montana, Rhode Island and Vermont – have signed decrees reinstating certain provisions for network neutrality. The legislatures of the states of Oregon, Vermont and Washington have also passed a law on internet neutrality.

Write to Alejandro Lazo at [email protected]

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