The US Justice Department has withdrawn its lawsuit against California’s data protection law, passed in June 2018, Reuters reported. The aim of the law was to give people more control over how companies collect and manage their personal information. It also came in response to the FCC overturning net neutrality rules in December 2017. Those rules had been voted in in 2015.
The Department of Justice challenged the California legislation on 30 September 2018, arguing that federal law pre-empted state law. The California law still has to go into effect, waiting for the resolution of other legal challenges. Specifically, a suit brought by industry groups will be heard on 23 February.
FCC acting chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issued a statement following the DoJ’s decision to withdraw its lawsuit, saying she was pleased with the move. “When the FCC, over my objection, rolled back its net neutrality policies, states like California sought to fill the void with their own laws. By taking this step, Washington is listening to the American people, who overwhelmingly support an open internet, and is charting a course to once again make net neutrality the law of the land,” Rosenworcel said.
NGO Public Knowledge said it also supported the decision and said people, and not broadband providers, should choose what content and services they access online. Public Knowledge filed an amicus brief on the matter in October, together with Access Now, Free Press, Mozilla Corporation, and New America’s Open Technology Institute.
