SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Supporter of Net Neutrality Ginger Gibson (L) of Valley Glen, California, protests the FCC's recent decision to repeal the program in Los Angeles, California, November 28, 2017. (Photo: Kyle Grillot / Reuters)
Lawsuit Brought by Jeff Sessions Against California for New Law Defending Net Neutrality Denounced as 'Absurd'
"This complaint is completely absurd given that the same lawyers and lobbyists from AT&T and Comcast were the chief culprits in destroying the blanket federal protections on the books."
Oct 01, 2018
Denounced as a clear effort to appease the telecom giants who have been the main drivers behind destroying the egalitarian principles that insulate the internet from corporate control, the U.S. Department of Justice didn't even wait until morning to launch a federal lawsuit against the state of California after Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday evening signed into a far-reaching net neutrality bill.
In a late-night statement supporting the DOJ lawsuit, Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai claimed the state-level effort was "illegal" and said the GOP-controlled commission under his command would assist in the court challenge.
While calling the bill signed into law "a significant milestone in the effort to restore essential communications rights for everyone in America," Matt Wood, from the Free Press Action Fund, said the move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions--and backed by Pai--makes clear the Republican Party's ongoing intentions to make sure companies like Verizon and Comcast get what they want.
\u201cFCC Chairman @AjitPaiFCC and the Justice Department couldn't even wait until Monday \u2014 once California's governor signed tough #NetNeutrality rules into law, they immediately filed suit to block them. https://t.co/o3FTULO08s\u201d— Free Press (@Free Press) 1538406317
"The Trump administration's decision to sue the state of California just for stepping in to fill the void created when Ajit Pai wrongly took away these congressionally granted rights is unfortunate and hypocritical in the extreme," Woods stated. "As the preemption suit moves forward, cable and phone lobbyists will wail about how they can't comply with a patchwork of different state laws prohibiting broadband providers from unreasonably discriminating against internet users' basic rights. This complaint is completely absurd given that the same lawyers and lobbyists from AT&T and Comcast were the chief culprits in destroying the blanket federal protections on the books."
Offering an opposing view from within the FCC, Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel countered Pai's support for the lawsuit by applauding California for its effort.
"A hefty thank you to the Golden State for your effort to get right what the FCC got wrong when it wiped out our open internet protections late last year," Rosenworcel said in a statement on Monday. "The FCC's misguided decision to roll back net neutrality gave broadband providers the green light to block websites, throttle services, and censor online content. That's why the California law is a welcome development--it's good for consumers, good for businesses, and good for anyone who connects and creates online."
\u201cJeff Sessions calls the California #NetNeutrality law "extreme" and "illegal," which is how you know it's "awesome."\u201d— Evan Greer is on Mastodon (@Evan Greer is on Mastodon) 1538363460
While Trump's DOJ had chosen the courts as the next avenue to undermine online protections, Rosenworcel said the "regrettable" decision only "confirms that Washington is not listening to the American people."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Denounced as a clear effort to appease the telecom giants who have been the main drivers behind destroying the egalitarian principles that insulate the internet from corporate control, the U.S. Department of Justice didn't even wait until morning to launch a federal lawsuit against the state of California after Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday evening signed into a far-reaching net neutrality bill.
In a late-night statement supporting the DOJ lawsuit, Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai claimed the state-level effort was "illegal" and said the GOP-controlled commission under his command would assist in the court challenge.
While calling the bill signed into law "a significant milestone in the effort to restore essential communications rights for everyone in America," Matt Wood, from the Free Press Action Fund, said the move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions--and backed by Pai--makes clear the Republican Party's ongoing intentions to make sure companies like Verizon and Comcast get what they want.
\u201cFCC Chairman @AjitPaiFCC and the Justice Department couldn't even wait until Monday \u2014 once California's governor signed tough #NetNeutrality rules into law, they immediately filed suit to block them. https://t.co/o3FTULO08s\u201d— Free Press (@Free Press) 1538406317
"The Trump administration's decision to sue the state of California just for stepping in to fill the void created when Ajit Pai wrongly took away these congressionally granted rights is unfortunate and hypocritical in the extreme," Woods stated. "As the preemption suit moves forward, cable and phone lobbyists will wail about how they can't comply with a patchwork of different state laws prohibiting broadband providers from unreasonably discriminating against internet users' basic rights. This complaint is completely absurd given that the same lawyers and lobbyists from AT&T and Comcast were the chief culprits in destroying the blanket federal protections on the books."
Offering an opposing view from within the FCC, Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel countered Pai's support for the lawsuit by applauding California for its effort.
"A hefty thank you to the Golden State for your effort to get right what the FCC got wrong when it wiped out our open internet protections late last year," Rosenworcel said in a statement on Monday. "The FCC's misguided decision to roll back net neutrality gave broadband providers the green light to block websites, throttle services, and censor online content. That's why the California law is a welcome development--it's good for consumers, good for businesses, and good for anyone who connects and creates online."
\u201cJeff Sessions calls the California #NetNeutrality law "extreme" and "illegal," which is how you know it's "awesome."\u201d— Evan Greer is on Mastodon (@Evan Greer is on Mastodon) 1538363460
While Trump's DOJ had chosen the courts as the next avenue to undermine online protections, Rosenworcel said the "regrettable" decision only "confirms that Washington is not listening to the American people."
Denounced as a clear effort to appease the telecom giants who have been the main drivers behind destroying the egalitarian principles that insulate the internet from corporate control, the U.S. Department of Justice didn't even wait until morning to launch a federal lawsuit against the state of California after Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday evening signed into a far-reaching net neutrality bill.
In a late-night statement supporting the DOJ lawsuit, Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai claimed the state-level effort was "illegal" and said the GOP-controlled commission under his command would assist in the court challenge.
While calling the bill signed into law "a significant milestone in the effort to restore essential communications rights for everyone in America," Matt Wood, from the Free Press Action Fund, said the move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions--and backed by Pai--makes clear the Republican Party's ongoing intentions to make sure companies like Verizon and Comcast get what they want.
\u201cFCC Chairman @AjitPaiFCC and the Justice Department couldn't even wait until Monday \u2014 once California's governor signed tough #NetNeutrality rules into law, they immediately filed suit to block them. https://t.co/o3FTULO08s\u201d— Free Press (@Free Press) 1538406317
"The Trump administration's decision to sue the state of California just for stepping in to fill the void created when Ajit Pai wrongly took away these congressionally granted rights is unfortunate and hypocritical in the extreme," Woods stated. "As the preemption suit moves forward, cable and phone lobbyists will wail about how they can't comply with a patchwork of different state laws prohibiting broadband providers from unreasonably discriminating against internet users' basic rights. This complaint is completely absurd given that the same lawyers and lobbyists from AT&T and Comcast were the chief culprits in destroying the blanket federal protections on the books."
Offering an opposing view from within the FCC, Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel countered Pai's support for the lawsuit by applauding California for its effort.
"A hefty thank you to the Golden State for your effort to get right what the FCC got wrong when it wiped out our open internet protections late last year," Rosenworcel said in a statement on Monday. "The FCC's misguided decision to roll back net neutrality gave broadband providers the green light to block websites, throttle services, and censor online content. That's why the California law is a welcome development--it's good for consumers, good for businesses, and good for anyone who connects and creates online."
\u201cJeff Sessions calls the California #NetNeutrality law "extreme" and "illegal," which is how you know it's "awesome."\u201d— Evan Greer is on Mastodon (@Evan Greer is on Mastodon) 1538363460
While Trump's DOJ had chosen the courts as the next avenue to undermine online protections, Rosenworcel said the "regrettable" decision only "confirms that Washington is not listening to the American people."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.