Biden DoJ Drops Lawsuit Against California Net Neutrality Law

LOS ANGELES—In 2018, less than 24 hours after California’s then-governor Jerry Brown signed the state’s net neutrality bill into law, the United States Department of Justice sued to stop the law from ever taking effect. As of Monday, that lawsuit is no more. The initial lawsuit was filed by the DoJ under the Trump administration. But with a new, Democratic administration now in place, net neutrality activists called on the Justice Department, under President Joe Biden’s attorney general nominee Merrick Garland, to withdraw the lawsuit. That has now happened. While Garland himself has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, on Monday the DoJ voluntarily dismissed the suit, which claimed that California’s law was not permitted to take effect because it was superseded by the federal repeal of net neutrality rules by the Federal Communications Commission.   The California law has not yet taken effect, due to various legal proceedings, including the DoJ lawsuit. And even after the dismissal of the federal lawsuit on Monday, the state still faces litigation from private industry which is also trying to stop the law. A lobbying group representing the broadband industry filed a suit in 2018, just days after the Trump administration lawsuit was filed, claiming that the California law was unconstitutional.  The California law "was purposefully intended to countermand and undermine federal law by imposing on [broadband] the very same regulations that the Federal Communications Commission expressly repealed,” the broadband industry lobbying group lawsuit stated. That lawsuit is set for a hearing in a federal courtroom on February 23.  Ajit Pai, the Trump-appointed FCC Chair who led the net neutrality repeal, resigned his post on January 20. Biden named FCC board member Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as acting chair, replacing Pai. On Monday, she praised the DoJ’s voluntary dismissal of the federal lawsuit. “I am pleased that the Department of Justice has withdrawn this lawsuit. When the FCC, over my objection, rolled back its net neutrality policies, states like California sought to fill the void with their own laws,” Rosenworcel said. “By taking this step, Washington is listening to the American people, who overwhelmingly support an open internet, and is charting a course to once again make net neutrality the law of the land.” Photo By USA-Reiseblogger / Pixabay