California Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to sign the bill into law has sent Trump into a spin. He thought that he if failed to regulate the telcos they could make lots of money extorting cash out of heavy internet users. What happened was that the states stepped in with their internet laws designed to protect users. California was the first and so Trump has ordered his minions to make an example of them.
The Justice Department is suing California to block a recently signed law restoring net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission discarded last year.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that the Justice Department should not have to spend valuable time and resources to file this suit.
"But we must defend the prerogatives of the federal government and protect our Constitutional order. We will do so with vigour. We are confident that we will prevail in this case —because the facts are on our side.”
Consumer advocacy groups touted the law as offering the strongest internet protections in the country. But the telecommunications industry argued the matter should be left to the federal government and called on Brown to veto the measure.
USTelecom, which represents companies like AT&T and Verizon, on Sunday said the California measure would not "help advance the promise and potential of California’s innovation DNA", calling on Congress to "step up with a national framework for the whole internet ecosystem and resolve this issue once and for all”.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai blasted it as illegal, “radical,” and “anti-consumer” during a speech last month.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra swiftly criticised the DOJ action saying the Trump Administration continues to ignore the "millions of Americans who voiced strong support for net neutrality rules, California — home to countless start-ups, tech giants and nearly 40 million consumers — will not allow a handful of power brokers to dictate sources for information or the speed at which websites load. We remain deeply committed to protecting freedom of expression, innovation and fairness."
