FCC Chief Slams California Lawmakers, Calls Net Neutrality Bill ‘Radical’ and ‘Illegal’ 

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FCC Chair Ajit Pai Calls California Net Neutrality Bill Illegal

Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission called the California net neutrality bill “radical, anti-consumer and illegal.”

He expressed his criticism during his speech at the Maine Heritage Policy Center. Last month, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 822, which many consider to be the strongest net neutrality legislation in the nation. It is the “gold standard” for states seeking to protect net neutrality.

Currently, the California net neutrality bill is on the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown. Lawmakers and advocates for open internet have demanded that the governor sign the legislation.

In his remarks on Friday, Pai said those who are demanding greater government control of the internet “haven’t given up” since the FCC repealed the Obama-era net neutrality rules.

He noted that their latest strategy is “pushing state governments to regulate the internet.” The “most egregious example” of this tactic happened in California.

According to him, the “state legislature passed a radical, anti-consumer internet regulation bill that would impose restrictions even more burdensome than those adopted by the FCC in 2015.”

Pai Accuses ‘Nanny-state California Legislators’ of Wanting to Ban Free-data Plans

Pai warned that the legislation would prevent Californians from purchasing many free-data plans if the governor signs it into law. He said, the “nanny-state California legislators apparently want to ban their constituents from having this choice. They have met the enemy, and it is free data.”