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On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that California can for the first time enforce its tough net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service. Point to be noted that the former Governor of California Jerry Brown signed the bill in 2018 and made California the first state to pass a net neutrality law. Open internet advocates are hopeful that the law would spur Congress and other states to follow suit. The Trump administration quickly sued to block the law, which prevented it from taking effect for years while the case was tied up in court. But, the Biden administration dropped that lawsuit earlier this month. But, the telecom industry asked a federal judge in a separate lawsuit to keep blocking the law.

On Tuesday, US District Court Judge John A. Mendez denied their request, allowing California to begin enforcing the law. The California State Senator Scott Wiener called the ruling “a huge victory for open access to the internet, our democracy, and our economy. Wiener said, “The internet is at the heart of modern life. We all should be able to decide for ourselves where we go on the internet and how we access information. We cannot allow big corporations to make those decisions for us”. Various telecom industry associations said in a joint statement that they will review the judge’s decision “before deciding on next steps”. They urged US Congress to set net-neutrality rules for the country rather than relying on states to come up with regulations on their own.

The ACA Connects, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, and US Telecom issued a joint statement and said, “A state-by-state approach to Internet regulation will confuse consumers and deter innovation, just as the importance of broadband for all has never been more apparent”. California’s law was spurred by the Federal Communications Commission’s 2017 decision to repeal net-neutrality rules that applied nationwide. The telecom industry fought hard against the bill, arguing it would discourage companies from investing in faster internet speeds. The law seeks to ban internet providers from slowing down customers’ data streams based on the content they are viewing. It also bars providers from speeding up access to websites willing to pay extra for special treatment.