A federal judge last week cleared the way for California to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don't pay for premium service.
Advocates for California's landmark net neutrality law — which passed two years ago but has not yet been enforced — called the ruling a major victory.
Barbara van Schewick, who heads the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, said the ruling comes during a critical time.
“We're in the middle of a pandemic and everything we do is stuff we do online... We go to school. We work with the doctor. We see our friends and it ensures that we the people who use the internet get to decide what we do online and that the companies that we pay to get online —Comcast, AT&T and Verizon — don't get to interfere with our choices.”
The
net neutrality law also prevents providers from making websites go faster just because they have a business partnership with them.
Our newsroom's local news and culture show Take Two, which airs on 89.3 KPCC, talked to van Schewick this week.
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