The day before the FCC is set to vote on repealing the Open Internet Order of 2015, Governor Inslee hosted a press conference urging the FCC to maintain current net neutrality rules. Inslee was joined by Attorney General Ferguson, Rep. Norma Smith, Rep. Drew Hansen, Sen. Manka Dhingra, Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz.com, and Andrew Sullivan of Sub Pop Records.
Inslee began the press conference by describing the importance of net neutrality for everyone in the United States and in Washington.
“All Washingtonians as a matter of principle should enjoy equal access to the educational, social and economic power of the internet,” said Inslee. “The internet has become an unparalled economic engine, and our state’s success is remarkable. Two hundred thousand jobs and more than 14,000 companies are supported today by free and open internet. But that success, both for consumers and businesses is under attack.”
The Governor’s comments echo a Dec. 6 letter he sent to the FCC urging them to reject the proposal.
Inslee also announced that in the face of the federal break down of net neutrality, Washington State will enact policies to protect these rules for Washingtonians.
“Washington State will act under our own authority, and under our own laws, and under our own jurisdiction, to protect the very important measure of net neutrality for all Washington…we are not powerless today and we will act to protect Washingtonians against violations of net neutrality, when Donald Trump would intend to leave Washingtonians unprotected.”
Inslee laid out the following five actions to ensure neutrality rules stay in place within Washington:
- Hold service providers accountable
- Use the state’s purchasing power to choose vendors that follow Washington’s net neutrality rules
- Assure only certified net neutrality ISP’s have access to the state’s infrastructure
- Work with public utilities districts to encourage competition
- Not be intimidated by federal threats of preemption
Attorney General Ferguson also spoke at the press conference to ensure that if the FCC repeals net neutrality rules, he and his team will thoroughly evaluate the rules to make sure they comply with the law. He also noted that his team will look into a pattern of fake comments in the FCC’s net neutrality comments. Ferguson, as well as several members of Congress, have called on the FCC to postpone its Dec. 14th vote until these comments are investigated.
Reps. Drew Hanson and Norma Smith announced plans to file legislation that would protect net neutrality laws that prohibit blocking lawful content, slowing down lawful content, and establishing paid priority.
Sen. Manka Dhingra also announced that she and Sen. Reuven Carlyle will present a bill to Governor Inslee.
Inslee concluded the conference by noting that his action plans may take a combination of legislative action and executive action, but that he looks forward to bipartisan support in this effort.
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