Digital Equity, Social Media Bills Clear Calif. Chambers

More California broadband and social media bills passed their chambers of origin Wednesday. The Assembly voted 76-0 for AB-2702 to set a goal for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) public housing account to provide internet connectivity to all public housing residents by Dec. 31, 2025. They voted 74-0 for AB-2749, opposed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (see 2205240048), to revise the CPUC’s review process for CASF grant applications. Assemblymembers voted 48-18 for AB-2748 to add digital equity requirements to the state’s video franchising law, including a prohibition on “denying equal access to service to any group of potential residential subscribers because of the income of the residents in the local area in which the group resides.” And the Assembly voted 51-18 for AB-2751 to require the California Department of Technology to create a net equality program requiring state agencies to make contracts only with ISPs that offer affordable internet to eligible households. It would define affordable service as at most $40 for 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds. The Senate voted 30-9 for SB-1018, which would require social media platforms with at least 1 million monthly users to annually disclose content moderation efforts.