California Net Neutrality Law Says If You Like Your Plan, You Can’t Keep It

FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE 

Contact: MacKenzie A. Morales | 615/512-3936

Washington, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) opposes the effort of California to impose its own self-styled “net neutrality” law. Instead of providing solutions, this law will create problems for California businesses and consumers, as well as those beyond its borders. Today, AT&T announced it will suspend certain free data programs for customers because of California’s restrictive internet regulations.

In response, TPA VP of Policy Patrick Hedger offered the following comment:

“After the repeal of national net neutrality regulations, progressives and pundits said everything but the sky was falling. Instead, the country experienced rapid growth in the tech and internet sectors, with increased internet speeds and heightened levels of investments. America’s internet infrastructure proved to be the most resilient in the face of the surge in pandemic-related traffic, while European regulators begged bandwidth hogs to slow down. Unfortunately, the California state government has decided they know better than the rest of the country and our lived experience. Once again, California has shown itself to be a champion of bad ideas.

“A patchwork of state regulations will erect insurmountable roadblocks to innovation and internet infrastructure deployment. Telecom companies cannot afford to comply with 50 different regulatory frameworks. This does nothing but exacerbate the competition problems in the internet sector that progressives claim to be so concerned about.

“We’re at the point where the supposed solutions are causing real harm. Under the law, wireless companies will be prohibited from offering great deals to California residents that might enable them to access certain data free of charge. California’s residents are not well served by this law and the rest of America certainly shouldn’t have to live with Sacramento’s silliness.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.