Friday was a day of celebration for net neutrality proponents, as California’s legislature approved a bill that, once passed into law, is widely seen as the strongest protection in the country. The bill, SB822, not only restores the net neutrality rules that were put into place by former President Barack Obama, but goes even to ban internet service providers from practices like throttling in favour of select content and zero-rating services.
The bill went before a Senate vote on Friday and was approved 23-11. It still needs to be signed by California Governor Jerry Brown before it’s put into law, but it’s been supported by a number of state Democrats, as well as survived strong opposition from ISPs like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon.
“SB822 sets the standard for other states to follow. SB 822 is the only state-level bill that truly restores all the 2015 net neutrality protections,” said Barbara van Schewick, director of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. Read more