Telecommunications industry groups on Wednesday ended their bid to block California's net neutrality law that bars broadband providers from throttling service.
In a federal court filing in Sacramento, the groups and California Attorney General Rob Bonta jointly agreed to dismiss the case.
The move followed a January decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing enforcement of the 2018 law, which bans internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don't pay for premium service.
"The case is finally over," Bonta said in a statement. "With this victory, we've secured a free and open internet for California's 40 million residents once and for all."
Messages seeking comment from an attorney representing the groups weren't immediately returned.
The law was signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown after regulators during the Trump administration killed federal net neutrality rules designed to prevent AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other major internet providers from exploiting their dominance to favor certain services or apps over others.
In response, seven states and Puerto Rico enacted their own net neutrality policies. The most expansive effort was in California, which started enforcing the law last year, with potentially significant consequences for the rest of the U.S.
In addition to barring internet providers from throttling service or charging companies like Netflix for a faster route to customers, the California law banned some forms of "zero rating" — a term for when a cable or phone company exempts a service from data caps.
Net-neutrality advocates say such programs undermine competition by potentially tilting users to the sponsored app and away from rivals.
Big telecom companies fought the measure fiercely in court. They argued that the regulations can undermine investment in broadband and introduce uncertainty about what were acceptable business practices.
The Trump administration sued to block California's 2018 law, preventing it from taking effect for years, but the Biden administration dropped that lawsuit.
John Ashton, “Beverly Hills Cop” actor, dies at 76
John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the "Beverly Hills Cop" films, has died. He was 76.
Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released by Ashton's manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately available.
In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face across TV series and films, including "Midnight Run," "Little Big League" and "Gone Baby Gone."
But in the "Beverly Hills Cop" films, Ashton played an essential part of an indelible trio. Though Eddie Murphy's Axel Foley, a Detroit detective following a case in Los Angeles, was the lead, the two local detectives — Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Ashton's Taggart — were Axel's sometimes reluctant, sometimes eager collaborators.
Of the three, Taggart — "Sarge" to Billy — was the more fearful, by-the-book detective. But he would regularly be coaxed into Axel's plans. Ashton co-starred in the first two films, beginning with the 1984 original, and returned for the the Netflix reboot, "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F," released earlier this year.
Ashton played a more unscrupulous character in Martin Brest's 1988 buddy comedy "Midnight Run." He was the rival bounty hunter also pursuing Charles Grodin's wanted accountant in "The Duke" while he's in the custody of Robert De Niro's Jack Walsh.
Speaking in July to Collider, Ashton recalled auditioning with De Niro.
"Bobby started handing me these matches, and I went to grab the matches, and he threw them on the floor and stared at me," said Ashton. "I looked at the matches, and I looked up, and I said, 'F—- you,' and he said, 'F—- you, too.' I said,... Read More