Net neutrality law to take effect in California after judge deals blow to telecom industry

California may soon begin enforcing its first-in-the-nation net neutrality law after a federal judge on Tuesday ruled against broadband providers that had sought to scuttle the state’s open-Internet safeguards.

The ruling amounts to a major victory for advocates of rules that require AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other telecom giants to treat all Web traffic equally, potentially setting the stage for states nationwide to follow California’s lead and adopt tough new protections of their own.