California attorney general might put net neutrality law on hold

25 October 2018 by Steve Blum
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California’s new network neutrality law might not go into effect as planned in January. Politico is reporting that California attorney general Xavier Becerra is considering making a deal with the Trump administration and lobbyists for AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, Frontier Communications and other monopoly model telecoms companies….

Sources familiar with the negotiations say government officials and representatives from USTelecom, CTIA, NCTA and the American Cable Association would propose delaying litigation over the state’s law while the D.C. Circuit Court considers the challenge to the FCC’s repeal of the federal net neutrality rules. In exchange, California would agree not to enforce its state law in the meantime.

Tomorrow is the deadline for Becerra to respond to the court challenges to senate bill 822 filed by the federal justice department and several front organisations that lobby on behalf of big cable and telephone companies.

A decision in the lawsuit contesting the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality rules last year would clarify a lot of the issues at stake in the California challenge. But it’ll come no sooner than next year, and could be even further out.