The Internet industry is suing the state of California over its outdated net neutrality law.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by major trade groups representing broadband companies, is the second major lawsuit filed against the state over the law — the first was brought by the Justice Department.
On Sunday night, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed what is considered the strongest net neutrality bill in the country. Under the law, internet service providers will not be allowed to block or slow down certain types of content or applications, or charge fees to apps or companies for faster access to customers.
Hours later, the federal government filed a lawsuit claiming that California was “trying to subvert the federal government’s deregulatory approach” to the internet. The DOJ argues that states can’t pass their own laws governing internet companies because broadband services cross state lines. It’s fighting the state over a clause in a 2017 order that repealed Obama-era federal net neutrality protections. In that order, the FCC said it could preempt state net neutrality laws.
The looming legal battle could last several months or longer, Daniel Lyons, an associate professor at Boston College Law School who specializes in telecommunications and internet regulation, told CNN.
The outcome of this case is crucial. California’s law is considered the most comprehensive statewide net neutrality legislation ever passed, and other states should look to it as a model for their own laws.
If California wins in court, it would open the door for other states to take similar action. However, the FCC could try to come back with an order to block their efforts again, Lyons said.
California will likely argue that the preemption provision is invalid, Lyons said, while the federal government will seek an injunction to block the law from going into effect. In doing so, it will argue that the law will cause harm if allowed to go into effect.
“These attempts to obtain a preliminary injunction appear weak and are likely to fail for the same reasons that caused the Internet service provider (ISP) industry to fail to obtain a stay of the FCC’s old net neutrality rules in 2015,” said telecommunications attorney Pantelis Michalopoulos, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP who has argued net neutrality cases. “The ISPs are advancing speculative theories about why they will suffer irreparable harm. These theories do not appear to meet the standard for a preliminary injunction.”
The industry groups in the new lawsuit represent major companies, including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, as well as other cable and wireless providers in the United States. Those groups had previously lobbied against the state law. (CNN is owned by AT&T.)
“We oppose California’s move to regulate Internet access because it threatens to negatively impact services for millions of consumers and harm new investment and economic growth. Republican and Democratic administrations have repeatedly embraced the idea that measures like this are preempted by federal law,” trade groups USTelecom, CTIA – The Wireless Association, The Internet & Television Association and the American Cable Association said in a statement. “We will continue our work to ensure that Congress passes bipartisan legislation to create a permanent framework for protecting the open Internet that consumers expect and deserve.”
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the state would fight to protect its new law.
“This lawsuit was brought by powerful individuals who have a clear financial interest in maintaining their stranglehold on the public’s access to online content. California, the economic engine of the nation, has the right to exercise its sovereign powers under the Constitution, and we will do everything we can to protect the right of our 40 million consumers to access information by defending a free and open Internet,” Becerra said in a statement.
Sen. Scott Wiener, a co-author of the bill, previously told CNN he expected ISPs to sue over the law.
“Internet service providers have every right to sue California, just as California has every right – and even an obligation – to protect our residents’ access to an open Internet,” Wiener said after the trade groups filed their lawsuit.
CNNMoney (San Francisco) First published October 3, 2018 at 5:46 p.m. ET
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