He removed a section that prohibits ISPs from engaging in application specific differential pricing or zero rating. Santiago also eliminated a section that requires ISPs to maintain enough bandwidth at network interconnection points.
Santiago is concerned that the net neutrality bill went too far and the industry could challenge it in court.
According to him, “Make no mistake. The industry supports Trump’s actions and will do everything they can to sue and block implementation of net neutrality in California. When that happens, we will fight back.”
Passing a weak net neutrality bill is a wrong direction for California
Santiago’s critics alleged that he watered down the legislation because the industry lobbyists donated significant amount of money to his campaign. He denied those allegations.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, the author of the net neutrality bill condemned the Committee for making hostile amendments.
In a statement, Wiener said, “What happened today was outrageous… These hostile amendments eviscerate the bill and leave us with a net neutrality bill in name only. In negotiations leading up to the committee hearing, I expressed a willingness to negotiate the provisions of the bills – and I remain willing to negotiate.”
