California Senate passes SB822 defending net neutrality!

Today, the California Senate voted to approve SB822, a bill that would reinstate the net neutrality regulations repealed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last December. The bill acts as a gold standard for states looking to protect net neutrality. Race Communications believes in SB822 and is in full support of the bill and net neutrality.

The Senate passed the bill that would institute rules like those implemented by the FCC in 2015. The bill will forbid the practice of zero-rating services to give them advantages over competitors. It will bar ISPs from blocking, throttling or engaging in paid prioritization.

S.B. 822 would ban these actions and prevent ISPs that don’t abide by these prohibitions from contracting with California state and local governments. That means ISPs who aren’t net neutral can’t get government contracts from the state of California.

Other states that have passed or have their own net neutrality bills in progress include Washington, Montana and Rhode Island. Also, a New York state senator has introduced a bill similar to California’s in New York.

The bill still has to clear the state Assembly before it can be signed into law.