NEWS

Internet Service Providers Pour $1 Million into California Assembly As Net Neutrality Debate Rages

Laura Curlin and Alec Saslow | June 29, 2018

Sacramento, California outside the capital building. Photo from Getty Images.

California’s major internet service providers and their trade association have contributed more than $1 million to members of the California Assembly since January 2017, according to a MapLight analysis.

Last week, California lawmakers were poised to pass new net neutrality rules after the Federal Communications Commission repealed Obama-era federal requirements that internet service providers treat web content equally. The California bill, SB 822, sailed through the Senate in May -- but the strong net neutrality rules stalled when an Assembly committee approved amendments that severely weakened the proposal, according to open internet advocates.

The amendments, which removed a ban on internet providers charging fees to content providers, were authored by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a Los Angeles Democrat who received more than $29,000 from Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter Communications, and California Cable and Telecom Association -- more than 78 of the 80 Assembly members.

Scott Wiener, a Democratic senator from San Francisco who sponsored the California bill, pledged to continue working toward a solution but said the current measure “no longer protects net neutrality and is not worth passing.”

Explore the chart below to see the top California Assembly recipients of money from Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter Communications, and California Cable and Telecom Association.

