Montana Governor Signs Order to Force Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON — Most efforts underway to restore so-called net neutrality face big obstacles and would take many months, if not years, to succeed.

But in Montana, the governor has used the stroke of a pen to bring the rules to broad parts of his state.

Through an executive order, Gov. Steve Bullock declared Monday that any internet service provider with a state government contract cannot block or charge more for faster delivery of websites, two core aspects of net neutrality, to any customer in the state.

Many major landline and mobile broadband providers, including Charter, CenturyLink, AT&T and Verizon, hold government contracts in the state. The new requirements apply to new and renewed contracts signed after July 1, 2018.

The action, the first of its kind by a governor, could face legal challenges.

In December, the Federal Communications Commission rolled back rules meant to protect a free and open internet. The new rules say states cannot create net neutrality laws. The agency did not respond to a request for comment about the Montana action.

But Bullock and some public interest advocates who have advised him argue that the state has wide latitude to set conditions to any contracts with the government — one of the biggest customers in most cities and states — to get around the FCC’s restrictions.

“If you want to do business with Montana, there are standards on net neutrality you will have to follow,” Bullock said.

The idea is similar to bills in New York and Rhode Island that are also trying to use government contracts to regulate the practices of internet service providers. Those efforts are proceeding slowly along with multiple lawsuits filed last week by more than 20 state attorneys general and public interest groups.

Broadband providers say they will have difficulty following different state laws related to net neutrality. Various trade groups said they were watching Montana’s action and other state bills and were considering lawsuits.

“Following patchwork of legislation or regulation is costly and makes it even harder to invest in networks,” said Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association, a lobbying group for small- and midsize broadband providers.

Bullock, a Democrat, said the executive order was the fastest and surest way to bring back net neutrality rules and to head off any decisions by internet service providers to begin throttling or charging websites more to reach consumers.

“There is a long history of government using its procurement power to get companies to adopt requirements and this is no different,” said Travis LeBlanc, an enforcement chief for the FCC during the Obama administration. “This action by Gov. Bullock will provide immediate relief.”

Though the order applies only to Montana, it could have a spillover effect as seen with auto emissions rules and cybersecurity notification laws that began in a few states but eventually became national standards.

“This is simple plug and play for other states to do as well,” Bullock said.