Last week, the Federal Communications Commission voted to end net neutrality, and now officials in roughly seven states are proposing lawsuits against the repeal, according to Wired.
While the FCC's action prohibits states from imposing their own net neutrality rules — the Obama-era laws that ban broadband companies from prioritizing or blocking some content over others — a number of states' attorneys general have flocked to blog posts and social media to express concern and vow to take action against the repeal.
Almost immediately following the vote, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement he would lead a multistate lawsuit against the agency to preserve the regulations. Attorneys general in Illinois, Oregon, Massachusetts and Washington have announced similar suits and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller's office tweeted Dec. 14 the office will consult with other attorneys general about a suit, Wired reports.
California State Senator Scott Wiener, D, said he promised to introduce legislation within 60 days that would, in some way, penalize internet service providers that block or discriminate against lawful content.
"California can regulate business practices to require net neutrality, condition state contracts on adhering to net neutrality, and require net neutrality as part of cable franchise agreements, as a condition to using the public right-of-way for internet infrastructure, and in broadband packages," he wrote in a blog post.
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