Introduction and Summary of Argument
In their short lifespan, the Internet and the broadband services that connect Americans to it have transformed how we live our lives. The Internet鈥檚 profound power comes from the fact that it is a single, unified national and international network that respects no boundaries鈥攕ave for those of foreign autocrats. Thus, the very idea of an 鈥渋ntrastate鈥� broadband service is a logical and practical nullity.
Because broadband is an interstate, rather than intrastate, service, state governments should not be permitted to regulate them with state-level 鈥渘etwork neutrality鈥� laws, such as California鈥檚, as doing so would impermissibly infringe upon and harm interstate commerce. Moreover, the practical result of state-by-state network neutrality regulations would be utter bedlam for the Internet. Broadband providers would be forced to offer different service offerings in different states鈥攊f that would even be possible鈥攐r offer the same service in every state bounded by the restrictions of states with the most stringent laws. The end result would be higher prices for American broadband consumers and lower investment and innovation by America鈥檚 broadband companies and Internet entrepreneurs, all thanks to the legal and regulatory minefield of fifty separate network neutrality regimes.