California State Assembly plans hearing on Verizon throttling of firefighters’ data
The hearing, which starts around
"We need to know exactly what happened during the Mendocino Complex Fire," Assemblymember
Bowden wrote to the
Levine co-chairs the select committee with Assemblymember
Levine recalled how the Tubbs fire last year had been devastating for thousands of his constituents in
"We should not have challenges for first responders who may be impeded from doing their jobs," said Levine. "Telecommunications companies should know who our first responders are."
Legislators may consider whether to propose new laws to prevent companies like Verizon from throttling first responders, but that won't be determined until after the hearing, according to Levine. The committee will also explore whether the state of
Levine, however, may shy away from exploring one facet of the issue: net neutrality, a hot-button regulatory issue that focuses on preventing broadband providers from manipulating data.
Net neutrality rules implemented under the Obama administration sought to prevent internet service providers and broadband carriers such as Verizon from favoring one website or service over others by granting unequal loading speeds, or by blocking or slowing content. The Trump administration repealed the regulations in 2017.
Bowden submitted his testimony about the Verizon throttling of his firefighters' devices as part of a brief to support the return of past net neutrality regulations.
"That is a separate problem," said Levine. "From what I've read, the issue stems from the fact that (firefighters) went over their limit ... It's a little different than net neutrality."
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