Big telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon have been stressing out as states like California move closer and closer to enacting meaningful net neutrality consumer protections. In the wake of telecom shill and former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai’s rollback of those protections at the federal level, telecoms now realize that there is more to do now that the grassroots movements in America have become more activated than ever. To that end, AT&T and Verizon have not been able to have the decency to keep up the illusion that they aren’t greed-driven psychopaths who are willing to create internet fast lanes at the drop of a hat while also throttling emergency services in order to make a few more dollars a month. Motherboard has a purported recording of one of the robocalls, and in it a woman explains:
“Your Assembly member will be voting on a proposal by San Francisco politicians that could increase your cellphone bill by $30 a month and slow down your data,” says a voice on an automated call paid for by legal reform group the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC). “We can't afford higher cell phone bills. We can't afford slower data. We can't afford Senate Bill 822.”