Media Contact: Tina Pelkey, (202) 418-0536 tina.pelkey@fcc.gov For Immediate Release CHAIRMAN PAI STATEMENT ON EIGHTH CIRCUIT AFFIRMATION THAT STATE EFFORTS TO REGULATE INFORMATION SERVICES ARE PREEMPTED WASHINGTON, September 7, 2018—This morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reaffirmed in Charter Advanced Services (MN), LLC v. Lange (in the context of Minnesota’s attempt to regulate interconnected VoIP service) that state efforts to regulate information services are preempted by federal law. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement: “A patchwork quilt of 50 state laws harms investment and innovation in advanced communications services. That’s why federal law for decades has recognized that states may not regulate information services. The Eighth Circuit’s decision is important for reaffirming that well-established principle: ‘[A]ny state regulation of an information service conflicts with the federal policy of nonregulation’ and is therefore preempted. That is wholly consistent with the approach the FCC has taken under Democratic and Republican Administrations over the last two decades, including in last year’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order.” ### Office of Chairman Ajit Pai: (202) 418-1000 Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC www.fcc.gov/leadership/ajit-pai This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).