California’s net neutrality law and the case for zero-rating government services

California’s 2018 net neutrality law, SB-822, recently went into effect and concerns have been already raised about the legality of “zero-rating,” the practice by which commercial arrangements and unilateral decisions by network operators are exempted from consumer pricing. Under California’s net neutrality law, zero-rating and sponsored data programs violate the new law because certain content cannot be excluded from consumer data caps, or usage-based pricing. Turner Lee offers the following recommendations to state and federal leaders:

1. California could amend its net neutrality law to include a case-by-case review of zero-rating and sponsored data programs.
2. The zero-rating of government and other government-supported content should be immediately applied to the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program.
3. Congress should establish a federal standard on net neutrality once and for all to bring certainty to the marketplace for the private and public sectors.