U.S. federal decision to repeal net neutrality challenged in west coast

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A federal decision made Thursday morning to repeal Internet neutrality rules has drawn quick criticism and opposition from the U.S. west coast.

Santa Clara County, about 60 km south of downtown San Francisco in Silicon Valley in California state, where many tech companies are headquartered, reacted quickly by vowing to file a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s vote Thursday to repeal regulations for net neutrality.

Local media said the county's Board of Supervisors, county Sheriff Laurie Smith and health officials condemn the FCC's 3-2 vote in Washington D.C. to drop the policy, put in place during the administration of former President Barack Obama to protect a free and open Internet, or net neutrality.

The county is seeking to retain net neutrality regulations so its residents can use the Internet without the potential of high-speed or low-speed "toll roads," Joe Simitian, who is on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, said.

The FCC's decision is "a source of great concern to our county and to our county's 1.9 million residents," he said.

"This is a matter of economic vitality ... a matter of our ability as a county to provide the residents of this county with safety and security," Simitian said.

On a broader scale, California State Senator Scott Wiener also announced that he plans to introduce legislation that would establish net neutrality protections in California once the state legislature returns for session in January next year.

"If the FCC won't protect free/open internet, we will. Net neutrality is key to protecting our democracy, esp in this authoritarian age," he tweeted.

Mark Farrell, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said in a statement that "Despite today's vote, the fight to uphold net neutrality is far from over."

"Today's vote also provides all the reasons in the world for San Francisco to continue to move full steam ahead with building and owning our own citywide fiber network," he said.

Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet on an equal footing and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, the type of attached equipment, or method of communication. Enditem