Marc Martin was quoted in the Wired article, "Can The FCC Really Block California’s Net Neutrality Law?" about the backlash to California's recent net neutrality bill.

"It's hard to find a case that's perfectly, squarely applicable, where an agency says 'we're vacating the field, and we're not allowing anyone else to enter the field,’" says Marc Martin, a former FCC staffer during the presidency of George H.W. Bush who is chair of the firm's communications practice.

It’s not unheard of for the federal government to preempt state or local regulations when those regulations conflict with federal policy, even when the federal policy is not to regulate. Marc, the former FCC staffer, points to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which banned states from reimposing federal airline regulations.

Marc thinks the states that are trying to protect net neutrality through policies barring state agencies from using broadband providers that don't respect net neutrality are on stronger footing than the California and Washington laws.