Bennett Ross Discusses California Lawmakers’ Efforts to Enact State Net Neutrality Rules

February 9, 2018

Bennett L. Ross, partner in Wiley Rein’s Telecom, Media & Technology Practice, was quoted by the Los Angeles Daily Journal in a February 7 article about efforts by California lawmakers to enact state net neutrality requirements.

The pending proposals aim to regulate Internet service providers (ISPs) at the state level, in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent repeal of federal net neutrality rules. Mr. Ross predicted that state implementation of net neutrality rules would likely draw legal challenges from ISPs.

But he also noted that the current federal approach could shift with any change in the political alignment of the federal government – regardless of whether the FCC’s net neutrality repeal is upheld by the courts. For example, if a Democrat were to win the 2020 presidential election, control of the FCC would flip to Democrats who may be more inclined to reinstate federal net neutrality rules. According to Mr. Ross, “The industry does not like being left to shifting political winds.”