DOJ Files Lawsuit against California over Net Neutrality Law

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against California over its net neutrality law.

On Sunday, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 822, which many consider the strongest net neutrality legislation in the United States. Advocates for open internet consider it as the “gold standard” for states seeking to protect net neutrality.

California allegedly imposing burdensome regulations on the free internet

In the lawsuit, the DOJ argued that California’s Senate Bill 822 violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States. The department noted that under the Telecommunications Act or 1996, the internet and other computer services must remain “unfettered by Federal or State regulation.”

In addition, the Justice Department said California is trying to undermine the Federal Government’s regulatory approach by enacting Senate Bill 822. The department noted that the state acknowledged that Senate Bill 822 codifies portions of the Obama-era net neutrality rules repealed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The state also imposes additional bright-line rules, which the FCC did not even chose to embrace in 2015.