California Governor Jerry Brown signed a net neutrality bill Sunday, which much like the old Federal Communications Commission laws would prevent internet service providers from prioritizing content or throttling and blocking certain content.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has said any attempt to implement state laws on net neutrality is “illegal,” adding such “micromanagement” just isn’t possible.

“Internet traffic doesn’t recognize state lines,” said Pai. “It follows that only the federal government can set regulatory policy in this area. For if individual states like California regulate the internet, this will directly impact citizens in other states.”

California Senator Scott Wiener countered that statement. “Pai can take whatever potshots at California he wants,” he said. “The reality is that California is the world’s innovation capital, and unlike the crony capitalism promoted by the Trump administration, California understands exactly what it takes to foster an open innovation economy with a level playing field.”

No sooner was the bill signed than the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit, arguing that states has no lawful right to impose their own rules regarding net neutrality nor should they be getting in the way of the government’s deregulatory approach to the Internet.

“Under the Constitution, states do not regulate interstate commerce—the federal government does,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Once again the California legislature has enacted an extreme and illegal state law attempting to frustrate federal policy.”

He added that the DOJ should not have to spending time fighting such lawsuits, but the constitutional order had to be protected. Pai was quick to say that he was pleased the D0J had taken action, reiterating that California’s internet regulation law is illegal and hurts consumers.

Weiner told the Los Angeles Times that he believes California will be able to defend the bill in court. “We’ve been down this road before: When [President] Trump and Sessions sued California and claimed we lacked the power to protect immigrants,” he said. “California fought Trump and Sessions on their immigration lawsuit. California won — and California will fight this lawsuit as well.”

It’s believed other states may follow suit. After the FCC repealed the Obama administration’s rule last year, 22 states filed a lawsuit to turn around that repeal.

Jonathan Spalter, chief executive of USTelecom, said things were getting out of hand. “Rather than 50 states stepping in with their own conflicting open internet solutions, we need Congress to step up with a national framework for the whole internet ecosystem and resolve this issue once and for all,” he said in a statement.

Image: Credo Action via Flickr