California’s dreaming of having America’s toughest net neutrality regime
A draft state law would be even stricter than federal rules that it aims to replace.
The news: Ars Technica says Scott Weiner, a California state senator, and other local politicians have introduced a revised bill to create a net neutrality law for the state. It would impose stiffer restrictions than the national one being scrapped by the Federal Communications Commission.
Details: The draft law mimics the federal rules, forbidding internet service providers from blocking or throttling web traffic. But it also goes further, banning “zero-rating”—a practice that lets companies pay ISPs to have their applications exempted from user data caps.
Mixed reactions: The proposed legislation is winning support from consumer advocacy groups that lobbied against the FCC’s plans to abandon net neutrality rules. But the agency has said it will mount a legal challenge against states that try to replicate the rules it’s ditching.
Why it matters: Several states, including Washington, have already passed their own net neutrality laws. Plenty of others are thinking of doing so, too, and California’s proposed move could influence them.
Deep Dive
Computing
Inside the hunt for new physics at the world’s largest particle collider
The Large Hadron Collider hasn’t seen any new particles since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. Here’s what researchers are trying to do about it.
How ASML took over the chipmaking chessboard
MIT Technology Review sat down with outgoing CTO Martin van den Brink to talk about the company’s rise to dominance and the life and death of Moore’s Law.
How Wi-Fi sensing became usable tech
After a decade of obscurity, the technology is being used to track people’s movements.
Algorithms are everywhere
Three new books warn against turning into the person the algorithm thinks you are.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.