SAVE THE INTERNET H.R.3458 - Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009

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HR 3458 IH


111th CONGRESS


1st Session


H. R. 3458

To
amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish a national broadband
policy, safeguard consumer rights, spur investment and innovation, and
for related purposes.


IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 31, 2009

Mr.
MARKEY of Massachusetts (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce


A BILL

To
amend the Communications Act of 1934 to establish a national broadband
policy, safeguard consumer rights, spur investment and innovation, and
for related purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:

      (1) Our Nation’s economy and society are increasingly dependent on Internet services.

      (2)
      The Internet is an essential infrastructure that is comparable to roads
      and electricity in its support for a diverse array of economic, social,
      and political activity.

      (3)
      Internet technologies and services hold the promise of advancing
      economic growth, fostering investment, creating jobs, and spurring
      technological innovation.

      (4)
      As the Nation becomes more reliant upon such Internet technologies and
      services, unfettered access to the Internet to offer, access, and
      utilize content, services, and applications is vital.

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      (5)
      The global leadership in high technology that the United States
      provides today stems directly from historic policies that embraced
      competition and openness and that have ensured that telecommunications
      networks are open to all lawful uses by all users.

      (6)
      The Internet was enabled by those historic policies and provides an
      open architecture medium for worldwide communications, providing a low
      barrier to entry for Internet-based content, applications, and services.

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      (7)
      Due to legal and marketplace changes, these features of the Internet
      are no longer certain, and erosion of these historic policies permits
      telecommunications network operators to control who can and who cannot
      offer content, services, and applications over the Internet utilizing
      such networks.

      (8)
      The national economy would be severely harmed if the ability of
      Internet content, service, and application providers to reach consumers
      was frustrated by interference from broadband telecommunications
      network operators.

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      (9)
      The overwhelming majority of residential consumers subscribe to
      Internet access service from 1 of only 2 wireline providers: the cable
      operator or the telephone company.

      (10)
      Internet access service providers have an economic interest to
      discriminate in favor of their own services, content, and applications
      and against other providers.

      (11)
      A network neutrality policy based upon the principle of
      nondiscrimination and consistent with the history of the Internet’s
      development is essential to ensure that Internet services remain open
      to all consumers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and providers of lawful
      content, services, and applications.

      (12)
      A network neutrality policy is also essential to give certainty to
      small businesses, leading global companies, investors, and others who
      rely upon the Internet for commercial reasons.

      (13)
      A network neutrality policy can also permit Internet service providers
      to take action to protect network reliability, prevent unwanted
      electronic mail, and thwart illegal uses in the same way that
      telecommunications network operators have historically done consistent
      with the overarching principle of non-discrimination.

      (14)
      Because of the essential role of Internet services to the economic
      growth of the United States, to meet other national priorities, and to
      our right to free speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution
      of the United States, the United States should adopt a clear policy
      preserving the open nature of Internet communications and networks.

SEC. 3. INTERNET FREEDOM.

‘SEC. 12. INTERNET FREEDOM.

‘(a) Internet Freedom Policy- It is the policy of the United States--

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    ‘(1)
    to protect the right of consumers to access lawful content, run lawful
    applications, and use lawful services of their choice on the Internet;

    ‘(2)
    to preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of broadband
    networks and to enable consumers to connect to such networks their
    choice of lawful devices, as long as such devices do not harm the
    network;

    ‘(3) to promote consumer choice and competition among providers of lawful content, applications, and services;

    ‘(4) to ensure that consumers receive meaningful information regarding their communications services;

    ‘(5)
    to ensure the ability to use or offer lawful broadband content,
    applications, and services for lawful purposes, as has been the policy
    and history of the Internet and the basis of user expectations since
    its inception;

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    ‘(6)
    to guard against discriminatory favoritism for, or degradation of,
    lawful content, applications, or services by network operators based
    upon their source, ownership, or destination on the Internet;

    ‘(7) to preserve the freedom of independent Internet content, application, and service providers to compete and innovate;

    ‘(8)
    to foster an evolving level of capacity available throughout
    communications networks to support competition and innovation for
    lawful Internet content, applications, and services, including
    applications and services that require substantial downstream and
    upstream bandwidth; and

    ‘(9)
    to ensure that the Internet remains an indispensable platform for
    innovation in the United States economy, thereby enabling the Nation to
    provide global leadership in online commerce and technological progress.

‘(b)
Duties of Internet Access Service Providers- With respect to any
Internet access service offered to the public, each Internet access
service provider shall have the duty to--

    ‘(1)
    not block, interfere with, discriminate against, impair, or degrade the
    ability of any person to use an Internet access service to access, use,
    send, post, receive, or offer any lawful content, application, or
    service through the Internet;

    ‘(2)
    not impose a charge on any Internet content, service, or application
    provider to enable any lawful Internet content, application, or service
    to be offered, provided, or used through the provider’s service, beyond
    the end user charges associated with providing the service to such
    provider;

    ‘(3)
    not prevent or obstruct a user from attaching any lawful device to or
    utilizing any such device in conjunction with such service, provided
    such device does not harm the provider’s network;

    ‘(4) offer Internet access service to any person upon reasonable request therefor;

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    ‘(5)
    not provide or sell to any content, application, or service provider,
    including any affiliate provider or joint venture, any offering that
    prioritizes traffic over that of other such providers on an Internet
    access service; and

    ‘(6) not install or utilize network features, functions, or capabilities that impede or hinder compliance with this section.

‘(c)
Commission Action- Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, the Commission shall
promulgate rules to ensure that providers of Internet access service--

    ‘(1) fulfill the duties described in subsection (b);

    ‘(2)
    disclose meaningful information to consumers about a provider’s
    Internet access service in a clear, uniform, and conspicuous manner and
    in conformity with the duties described in subsection (e);

    ‘(3)
    generally, to the extent feasible, make available sufficient network
    capacity to users to enable the provision, availability, and use of an
    Internet access service to support lawful content, applications, and
    services that require high bandwidth communications to and from an end
    user; and

    ‘(4) not operate Internet access services in an anticompetitive, unreasonable, unfair, discriminatory, or deceptive manner.

‘(d)
Reasonable Network Management- Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit an Internet access provider from engaging in
reasonable network management consistent with the policies and duties
of nondiscrimination and openness set forth in this Act. For purposes
of subsections (b)(1) and (b)(5), a network management practice is a
reasonable practice only if it furthers a critically important
interest, is narrowly tailored to further that interest, and is the
means of furthering that interest that is the least restrictive, least
discriminatory, and least constricting of consumer choice available. In
determining whether a network management practice is reasonable, the
Commission shall consider, among other factors, the particular network
architecture or technology limitations of the provider.

‘(e)
Transparency for Consumers- With respect to any Internet access service
or private transmission capacity offered to the public, each Internet
access service provider shall provide to consumers and make publicly
available detailed information about such services, including
information about the speed, nature, and limitations of such services.
Each Internet access service provider must publicly disclose, at a
minimum, network management practices that affect communications
between a user and a content, application, or service provider in the
ordinary, routine use of such broadband service.

‘(f)
Stand-Alone Internet Access Service- Within 180 days after the date of
enactment of the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, the
Commission shall promulgate rules to ensure that an Internet access
service provider does not require a consumer, as a condition on the
purchase of any Internet access service offered by such provider, to
purchase any other service or offering. The Commission shall adopt any
other rules it determines necessary to make such requirement effective
and meaningful for consumers.

‘(g)
Other Services- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, the Commission shall
complete all actions necessary to--

    ‘(1) promote an ever-increasing level of Internet access service to end users;

    ‘(2)
    ensure that such evolving level of service provided to end users is
    capable of supporting lawful content, applications, and services and
    provides ample bandwidth for such traffic to and from an end user;

    ‘(3)
    promote both facilities-based and nonfacilities-based competition to
    enable information service providers to have marketplace choices for
    transmission capacity to reach end users;

    ‘(4) define the term ‘private transmission capacity services’;

    ‘(5)
    clarify whether private transmission capacity services may not be
    subject to the duties described in subsections (b)(5) and (b)(6);

    ‘(6)
    ensure that private transmission capacity services do not undermine the
    purposes of this Act and do not diminish or degrade the level of
    Internet access service offered to the public by the same provider; and

    ‘(7)
    ensure that private transmission capacity services are not offered in
    an anticompetitive, unreasonable, discriminatory, or deceptive manner.

‘(h)
Implementation- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, the Commission shall--

    ‘(1)
    prescribe rules to permit any aggrieved person to file a complaint with
    the Commission concerning any violation of this section;

    ‘(2)
    establish enforcement and expedited adjudicatory review procedures
    consistent with the objectives of this section, including the
    resolution of any complaint described in paragraph (1) not later than
    90 days after such complaint was filed, except for good cause shown;

    ‘(3)
    prescribe rules with respect to the reasonable network management
    practices described under subsection (d) for all Internet access
    services; and

    ‘(4)
    prescribe rules with respect to the appropriate disclosure obligations
    under subsection (e) for private transmission capacity services.

‘(i) Enforcement-

‘(j)
Illegal Conduct- Nothing in this Act shall be construed or interpreted
to affect any law or regulation addressing prohibited or unlawful
activity, including any laws or regulations prohibiting theft of
content.

‘(k) Definitions- For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

‘(1)
INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE- The term ‘Internet access service’ means a
2-way transmission offered by an Internet access service provider that
transmits information between 2 or more points and that has as its
primary, but not exclusive, purpose the enabling of data to be sent or
received from the Internet.

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‘(2)
INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE PROVIDER- The term ‘Internet access service
provider’ means a person or entity that operates or resells and
controls any facility used to provide an Internet access service
directly to the public, whether provided for a fee or for free, and
whether provided via wire or radio, except when such service is offered
as an incidental component of a noncommunications contractual
relationship.CommentsPermalink

‘(3)
USER- The term ‘user’ means any residential or business subscriber who,
by way of an Internet access service, takes and utilizes Internet
access services, whether provided for a fee, in exchange for an
explicit benefit, or for free.

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‘(4)
REASONABLE NETWORK MANAGEMENT- The term ‘reasonable network management’
shall be defined by the Commission through regulations.’.