The linked (OP) article is not thorough, here is a slightly better one. [1] In particular, the NYT article doesn't go into enough detail about the FCC state law

The linked (OP) article is not thorough, here is a slightly better one. [1] In particular, the NYT article doesn't go into enough detail about the FCC state law preemption and what the states are realistically able to do here. A relevant lawyer is quoted, and he cites case law. The short of it is that it's totally grandstanding. In New York, the plan isn't to try to affect the consumer market directly, it's to limit any state agency from purchasing telecommunications service with any provider that doesn't fit net neutrality rules [2]; which is obviously unlikely to do anything meaningful except make the government pay more, and hence is grandstanding. In California, Wiener proposed the following [3]: > * Regulate business practices to require net neutrality > * Condition state contracts on adhering to net neutrality > * Require net neutrality as part of cable franchise agreements, as a condition to using the public right-of-way for internet infrastructure > * Condition the right to attach small cell or other broadband wireless communications to utility poles on adherence to net neutrality Every point except the second one is likely to be challenged successfully in court, bringing us back to the New York problem-- pushing net neutrality by throwing the government's purchasing power behind the issue. It's legal, but the other points are likely to tie up the courts for a predictable outcome. I'm not saying that it's useless to have it play out in the courts; I think it's worth doing. I'm just saying that every representative pushing these plans forward knows that the potential effects of their legislation is primarily limited to restrictions on government spending, and thus, it's reasonable to suspect that their motivation is primarily to grandstand rather than to make a difference. [1]: https://reason.com/blog/2017/12/19/can-states-reimpose-net-neutrality https://reason.com/blog/2017/12/19/can-states-reimpose-net-n... [2]: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/new-york-tried-end-run-around-fcc-preemption-with-net-neutrality-law/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/new-york-tried-e... [3]: http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180103-senator-wiener-introduce-net-neutrality-legislation-today-california-legislature http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180103-senator-wiener-intro...