Four industry groups sued California Wednesday over its new net neutrality law, SB 822, joining the U.S. federal government.
California’s law obliges internet service providers (ISPs) to offer all types of content at the same speed and price and forbids so-called zero rating, which is when a content provider pays the ISP for free delivery to customers. Federal rules required that from 2015 until last year, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revised them in June.
Washington State passed a net neutrality law of its own in February and California soon began drafting up its own net neutrality law and even negotiated with industry players to soften the blow.
Several states have already sued the federal government over the FCC rule change, so the likeliest scenario is that these new lawsuits will be resolved by the outcome of that case, ArsTechnica reports.
“Big telecom companies hate the California net neutrality bill because it prevents them from screwing over their customers more than they already do,” Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer told Deadline Hollywood.
Meanwhile, industry lobbyists will keep lobbying:
“We will continue our work to ensure Congress adopts bipartisan legislation to create a permanent framework for protecting the open internet that consumers expect and deserve,” said a statement by industry groups CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom, and the American Cable Association.
