California may gut state net neutrality law to comply with Trump admin demand
Trump admin broadband grants forbid states from enforcing net neutrality laws.
California faces a potential setback in its state net neutrality law as federal officials demand compliance with the Trump administration's demands, according to recent reports. The state is set to receive $1.86 billion in federal broadband grants, but the administration has declared that any ISP receiving these funds cannot be subject to net neutrality regulations.
This decision comes after the Trump administration revamped the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, requiring states to relinquish the authority to enforce rate regulation or net neutrality rules on ISPs receiving funding. California had previously won a legal battle defending its state net neutrality law, which prohibits ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful traffic and prevents them from charging websites or online services for prioritizing their traffic to users.
Despite the previous administration's loss in preempting state net neutrality laws, the current administration seeks to impose similar restrictions by making federal broadband funds contingent upon states' agreement not to enforce net neutrality rules.
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