Below are tweets from today by Free State Foundation President Randolph May and I regarding the negative consequences for everyday wireless consumers from CA SB 822 -- California's state restrictive "net neutrality" law.
Agree 100% with @CooperFSF. It takes a California-type mentality to misconstrue protecting "competition" in a way that is anti-consumer. Various "free data" programs are just another way that ISPs use to innovate and to compete - and satisfy consumer demand. https://t.co/qI8MCubMZx
— Free State Foundation (@FSFthinktank) March 17, 2021
California's "net neutrality" regulation won't help connect anybody to the Internet. By banning "sponsored data" and "free data" plans that appeal to value-conscious and low-income consumers, CA's bad law is more likely to expand digital divides.
— Seth Cooper (@CooperFSF) March 17, 2021
Keep in mind that no major broadband Internet service provider blocks or degrades its subscribers' connections to legal content of their choice. Rather, dozens and dozens of broadband ISPs pledge, in their terms of service, not to do those things. Under the FCC's Restoring Internet Freedom Order, broadband ISPs' anti-blocking and anti-degrading pledges are legally enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission. California's law appeals to Big Tech players like Google and Facebook -- who delete, disclaim, and shadow-ban content all the time, and in seemingly arbitrary and ideologically-driven fashion. But SB 822 isn't making wireless and other broadband consumers any better off.
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