SACRAMENTO – Thirteen state attorneys general including California’s have expressed strong opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s proposal to repeal net neutrality rules, which allow consumers to access online content without interference or manipulation by an internet service provider.

If the rules were to be repealed, an ISP could force web content providers to pay fees for faster internet speeds, limiting consumers’ ability to access the internet content of their choice.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and his counterparts in 12 other states joined together to make clear in comments to the FCC that doing away with the net neutrality rules would be unwarranted.

“I vigorously oppose the FCC’s attempt to gut the net neutrality rules,” Becerra said in a statement Monday. “All consumers should have free, open and equal access to the internet. When internet service providers dictate the speed at which websites load, no one benefits but internet service providers. As the Attorney General of California, a state that’s home to countless start-ups and technology giants alike, I know that net neutrality rules represent freedom and opportunity, innovation and fairness. I urge the FCC to do what’s right and keep the net neutrality rules in place.”

The FCC enacted net neutrality rules in 2015. Known officially as the 2015 Open Internet Order, they were subsequently affirmed by the District of Columbia Circuit Court in 2016 in United States Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission.