California may gut state net neutrality law to comply with Trump admin demand
California may gut state net neutrality law to comply with Trump admin demand
加州或将废除州网络中立性法律，以满足特朗普政府的要求
California is on the verge of accepting $1.86 billion in federal broadband grant funds, despite the Trump administration telling states they cannot enforce net neutrality rules on any Internet service provider that gets a piece of the grant money. 加州即将接受 18.6 亿美元的联邦宽带拨款，尽管特朗普政府已明确告知各州：不得对任何获得该拨款的互联网服务提供商（ISP）执行网络中立性规则。
When the Trump administration overhauled the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program last year, it ruled that states must agree not to enforce any rate regulation or net neutrality rule on ISPs that receive funding. This is particularly problematic for California, which previously won a yearslong court battle to defend its state net neutrality law. 当特朗普政府去年对 420 亿美元的“宽带公平、接入和部署”（BEAD）计划进行改革时，规定各州必须同意不对获得资助的 ISP 执行任何费率监管或网络中立性规则。这对加州来说尤为棘手，因为该州此前曾通过长达数年的法律诉讼，成功捍卫了其州网络中立性法律。
Similar to federal net neutrality rules repealed during the first Trump administration, California’s law prohibits ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful traffic and says ISPs may not require fees from websites or online services to deliver or prioritize their traffic to Internet users. 与特朗普第一任期内废除的联邦网络中立性规则类似，加州的法律禁止 ISP 屏蔽或限制合法流量，并规定 ISP 不得要求网站或在线服务支付费用，以向互联网用户传输或优先处理其流量。
While the first Trump administration lost its attempt to preempt state net neutrality laws, the second Trump administration is trying to achieve a similar result by making federal broadband money conditional on whether states agree not to enforce net neutrality. 虽然特朗普第一任政府在试图预先阻止（preempt）州网络中立性法律的尝试中失败了，但特朗普第二任政府正试图通过将联邦宽带资金与“各州是否同意不执行网络中立性”挂钩，来达到类似的结果。
Trump’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) says each state participating in BEAD must exempt ISPs from net neutrality rules and price regulations in all parts of the state, not just in areas where the ISP is given funds to deploy broadband service. The exemption from state laws and rules would apply for up to 14 years. 特朗普政府的国家电信和信息管理局（NTIA）表示，每个参与 BEAD 计划的州都必须在全州范围内豁免 ISP 的网络中立性规则和价格监管，而不仅仅是在 ISP 获得资金部署宽带服务的区域。这种对州法律和法规的豁免期限最长可达 14 年。
Under BEAD, each US state and territory receives an allotment that it can distribute to ISPs in exchange for deploying broadband to unserved and underserved areas. California and Illinois are the only states that haven’t finalized their funding, according to the BEAD progress dashboard maintained by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Tomorrow, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is scheduled to vote on a resolution to ratify the state’s final BEAD plan. 根据 BEAD 计划，美国各州和领地都会获得一笔拨款，用于分配给 ISP，以换取其在未覆盖和覆盖不足地区部署宽带。根据 NTIA 维护的 BEAD 进度仪表板显示，加州和伊利诺伊州是仅有的尚未最终确定资金分配的州。明天，加州公用事业委员会（CPUC）计划投票表决一项决议，以批准该州的最终 BEAD 计划。
Vote is “beginning of the end”
投票是“终结的开始”
California could try to continue enforcing its net neutrality law even while accepting the federal funding, a strategy that would involve another long court battle over its right to regulate broadband providers. This would be difficult, as the Trump administration is requiring states that accept grant funding to commit that they won’t enforce net neutrality rules. 加州或许可以尝试在接受联邦资金的同时继续执行其网络中立性法律，但这将涉及另一场关于其监管宽带提供商权利的长期法律诉讼。由于特朗普政府要求接受拨款的州承诺不执行网络中立性规则，这一策略将变得非常困难。
A CPUC spokesperson told Ars that tomorrow’s vote is a “procedural requirement” to ratify the state proposal submitted to the federal government in December 2025. But nearly 30 advocacy groups that focus on access to technology are treating the vote as a significant milestone and urged state leaders to defend California’s net neutrality law in a letter yesterday. CPUC 发言人告诉 Ars，明天的投票只是批准 2025 年 12 月提交给联邦政府的州提案的“程序性要求”。但近 30 个关注技术接入的倡导组织将此次投票视为一个重要的里程碑，并在昨天的一封信中敦促州领导人捍卫加州的网络中立性法律。
One of the letter signers is Paul Goodman, legal counsel for the Center for Accessible Technology. He told Ars in a phone interview that tomorrow’s CPUC vote is much more than a procedural step. “It’s the beginning of the end,” Goodman said. Winning a court battle would become much more difficult after the state accepts the money, he said. Goodman said the CPUC should delay the vote and that California should file a lawsuit arguing that the NTIA-imposed condition is illegal. 信件签署人之一、无障碍技术中心（Center for Accessible Technology）法律顾问保罗·古德曼（Paul Goodman）在电话采访中告诉 Ars，明天的 CPUC 投票绝不仅仅是一个程序性步骤。“这是终结的开始，”古德曼说。他表示，一旦加州接受了这笔钱，再想赢得法律诉讼将变得困难得多。古德曼认为，CPUC 应该推迟投票，加州应该提起诉讼，主张 NTIA 强加的条件是非法的。
In addition to net neutrality, Goodman said California may be giving up other regulatory authority over companies, like AT&T and Verizon, because the NTIA requirement forbids rate regulation and “utility-style rules on broadband Internet service” in general. 古德曼表示，除了网络中立性之外，加州可能还会放弃对 AT&T 和 Verizon 等公司的其他监管权力，因为 NTIA 的要求禁止了费率监管以及针对宽带互联网服务的“公用事业式规则”。
US forbids enforcement anywhere in the state
美国禁止在全州范围内执行相关法规
The advocacy groups’ letter was sent to Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, CPUC President John Reynolds, and the other CPUC commissioners. “While our organizations recognize the significance of BEAD funding—and the role it will play in advancing critical broadband infrastructure buildout across the State—we strongly stand against allowing for the presumption of preemption of the State’s net neutrality laws in order to accept BEAD funds,” the groups said. 倡导组织的信件已发送给州长加文·纽森（Gavin Newsom）、总检察长罗伯·邦塔（Rob Bonta）、CPUC 主席约翰·雷诺兹（John Reynolds）及其他 CPUC 委员。这些组织表示：“虽然我们的组织认识到 BEAD 资金的重要性，以及它在推动全州关键宽带基础设施建设中的作用，但我们坚决反对为了接受 BEAD 资金而允许预先废除本州的网络中立性法律。”
The NTIA’s BEAD rules say each state: shall commit that it will not enforce any law, regulation, order, contracting requirement, or other enforceable obligation that directly or indirectly regulates the rates, terms, and conditions of broadband Internet service… or imposes net neutrality rules, open access, or other utility-style rules on broadband Internet service, against a Subgrantee or its affiliates anywhere it provides service within the State (i.e., both BEAD and non-BEAD locations), while that Subgrantee has any subgrant that is still within its period of performance, extended period of performance, or federal interest period. NTIA 的 BEAD 规则规定，每个州必须承诺：在转授款受赠人（Subgrantee）及其关联方在州内提供服务的任何地方（即包括 BEAD 项目覆盖和未覆盖的地点），只要该受赠人仍处于拨款执行期、延长期或联邦利益期内，该州不得执行任何直接或间接监管宽带互联网服务费率、条款和条件的法律、法规、命令、合同要求或其他可执行义务，也不得对宽带互联网服务施加网络中立性规则、开放接入或其他公用事业式规则。
The NTIA said the exemption from state laws must extend statewide, because “applying net neutrality and rate regulation at non-BEAD locations could raise compliance costs and threaten the overall financial viability of the Subgrantee, increasing the risk of default for the Subgrantee at BEAD locations and jeopardizing the success of the entire BEAD program.” NTIA 表示，对州法律的豁免必须扩展到全州范围，因为“在非 BEAD 地点应用网络中立性和费率监管可能会增加合规成本，威胁到受赠人的整体财务可行性，从而增加受赠人在 BEAD 地点违约的风险，并危及整个 BEAD 计划的成功。”
Goodman said the exemption from state laws would last for up to 14 years. This is because ISPs receiving grants would have four years to deploy the required broadband networks, and the extended period of performance lasts another 10 years. 古德曼表示，这种对州法律的豁免期限最长可达 14 年。这是因为获得拨款的 ISP 有四年的时间来部署所需的宽带网络，而延长的执行期则持续另外 10 年。
Groups: Accepting US terms would set dangerous precedent
组织：接受美国条款将开创危险先例
The letter to state leaders said the California decision to accept BEAD money under these conditions “would set a dangerous precedent for the federal government to use federal funding as a cudgel that forces states in line with its agenda… If California were to allow this funding to be used as leverage, there is no telling what other resources the administration would confidently seek to exploit.” The groups urged California leaders to “defend the hard-won protections that have brought us th[is far].” 致州领导人的信中称，加州在这些条件下接受 BEAD 资金的决定“将开创一个危险的先例，即联邦政府利用联邦资金作为大棒，强迫各州服从其议程……如果加州允许这笔资金被用作筹码，谁也无法预料政府还会自信地寻求利用哪些其他资源。”这些组织敦促加州领导人“捍卫那些让我们走到今天的、来之不易的保护措施。”