In the USA, states continue to push for net neutrality
When the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed net neutrality rules last December, it also included a provision in its new order trying to prevent states from passing their own net neutrality rules. But several states across the USA have been working on enacting net neutrality laws on their own, despite a possible legal clash with the FCC order. At the end of February, Washington governor Jay Inslee signed a law aimed at protecting net neutrality. The law prohibits broadband providers operating in the state from blocking or throttling legal content, as well as from offering preferential treatment to services and applications willing to pay extra. Following this model, a bill was introduced in the California Senate to enforce net neutrality rules at the state level. The bill was described by commentators as ‘the most comprehensive set of net neutrality protections to date’, as it would prevent Internet service providers from slowing down or blocking access to online content, while also banning them from providing ‘zero-rate Internet traffic’ if monetary or other considerations are provided by third parties in exchange for the decision to zero-rate traffic.