I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2136 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure internet openness, 

to prohibit blocking of lawful content, applications, services, and nonharmful devices, to prohibit impairment or degradation of lawful internet 

traffic, to limit the authority of the Federal Communications Commission 

and to preempt State law with respect to internet openness obligations, 

to provide that broadband internet access service shall be considered 

to be an information service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2019 

Mr. SMUCKER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure internet openness, to prohibit blocking of lawful content, applications, services, and non-harmful devices, to prohibit 

impairment or degradation of lawful internet traffic, to 

limit the authority of the Federal Communications Commission and to preempt State law with respect to internet openness obligations, to provide that broadband 

internet access service shall be considered to be an information service, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Internet Preser3 vation Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INTERNET OPENNESS. 

5 Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

6 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 14. INTERNET OPENNESS. 

9 ‘‘(a) OBLIGATIONS OF BROADBAND INTERNET AC10 CESS SERVICE PROVIDERS.—A person engaged in the pro11 vision of broadband internet access service, insofar as such 

12 person is so engaged— 

13 ‘‘(1) may not block lawful content, applications, 

14 services, or non-harmful devices, subject to reason15 able network management; and 

16 ‘‘(2) may not impair or degrade lawful internet 

17 traffic on the basis of internet content, application, 

18 or service, or use of a non-harmful device, subject to 

19 reasonable network management. 

20 ‘‘(b) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall en22 force the obligations established in subsection (a) 

23 and the obligations established in subsection (e)(2) 

24 through adjudication of complaints alleging viola25 tions of such respective subsection but may not, 


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1 under any provision of law, whether by rulemaking 

2 or otherwise— 

3 ‘‘(A) expand the internet openness obliga4 tions for provision of broadband internet access 

5 service beyond the obligations established in 

6 subsection (a); or 

7 ‘‘(B) expand the internet openness obliga8 tions for the offering or provision of specialized 

9 services beyond the obligations established in 

10 subsection (e)(2). 

11 ‘‘(2) FORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.—Not 

12 later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 

13 of this section, the Commission shall adopt formal 

14 complaint procedures to address alleged violations of 

15 subsection (a) and alleged violations of subsection 

16 (e)(2). Such procedures shall include a deadline (rel17 ative to the date of filing of a complaint under such 

18 procedures) for the disposition of such complaint. 

19 ‘‘(c) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—No State or po20 litical subdivision of a State shall adopt, maintain, enforce, 

21 or impose or continue in effect any law, rule, regulation, 

22 duty, requirement, standard, or other provision having the 

23 force and effect of law relating to or with respect to inter24 net openness obligations for provision of broadband inter25 net access service. 


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1 ‘‘(d) OTHER LAWS AND CONSIDERATIONS.—Nothing 

2 in this section— 

3 ‘‘(1) supersedes any obligation or authorization 

4 a provider of broadband internet access service may 

5 have to address the needs of emergency communica6 tions or law enforcement, public safety, or national 

7 security authorities, consistent with or as permitted 

8 by applicable law, or limits the provider’s ability to 

9 do so; or 

10 ‘‘(2) prohibits reasonable efforts by a provider 

11 of broadband internet access service to address copy12 right infringement or other unlawful activity. 

13 ‘‘(e) SPECIALIZED SERVICES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), nothing in this section shall be construed 

16 to limit the ability of broadband internet access serv17 ice providers to offer specialized services. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PRACTICES.— 

19 Specialized services may not be offered or provided 

20 in ways that threaten the meaningful availability of 

21 broadband internet access service or that have been 

22 devised or promoted in a manner designed to evade 

23 the purposes of this section. 

24 ‘‘(f) BROADBAND TO BE CONSIDERED INFORMATION

25 SERVICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 


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1 the provision of broadband internet access service or any 

2 other mass-market retail service providing advanced tele3 communications capability (as defined in section 706 of 

4 the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302)) 

5 shall be considered to be an information service. 

6 ‘‘(g) REASONABLE NETWORK MANAGEMENT.—For 

7 purposes of subsection (a), a network management prac8 tice is reasonable if it is primarily used for and tailored 

9 to achieving a legitimate network management purpose, 

10 taking into account the particular network architecture 

11 and technology of the broadband internet access service. 

12 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERV14 ICE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘broadband 

16 internet access service’ means a mass-market 

17 retail service by wire or radio that provides the 

18 capability to transmit data to and receive data 

19 from all or substantially all internet endpoints, 

20 including any capabilities that are incidental to 

21 and enable the operation of the communications 

22 service, but excluding dial-up internet access 

23 service. 

24 ‘‘(B) FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT; EVA25 SION.—Such term includes any service that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Commission finds to be pro2 viding a functional equivalent of the service 

3 described in subparagraph (A); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) is used to evade the obligations 

5 set forth in subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘(2) NETWORK MANAGEMENT PRACTICE.—The 

7 term ‘network management practice’ means a prac8 tice that has a primarily technical network manage9 ment justification. Such term does not include other 

10 business practices. 

11 ‘‘(3) SPECIALIZED SERVICES.—The term ‘spe12 cialized services’ means services other than 

13 broadband internet access service that are offered 

14 over the same network as, and that may share net15 work capacity with, broadband internet access serv16 ice.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS 

18 SERVICES FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUNDS. 

19 Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

20 U.S.C. 254) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(4) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERV24 ICES.—Broadband internet access services (as de25 fined in section 14) shall be eligible to receive fundVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2136.IH H2136

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1 ing from Federal universal service support mecha2 nisms authorized by this section.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (e)— 

4 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

5 a provider of broadband internet access service 

6 (as defined in section 14)’’ after ‘‘section 

7 214(e)’’; and 

8 (B) in the second sentence, by inserting 

9 ‘‘or provider’’ after ‘‘carrier’’. 

Æ 


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