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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1492 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1492

                       One Hundred Tenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and eight

                                 An Act

 
     To improve the quality of Federal and State data regarding the 
   availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the 
 deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation.

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

                  TITLE I--BROADBAND DATA IMPROVEMENT

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Broadband Data Improvement Act''.

SEC. 102 FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
        (1) The deployment and adoption of broadband technology has 
    resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for 
    communities across the Nation, improved health care and educational 
    opportunities, and a better quality of life for all Americans.
        (2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of 
    broadband technology is vital to ensuring that our Nation remains 
    competitive and continues to create business and job growth.
        (3) Improving Federal data on the deployment and adoption of 
    broadband service will assist in the development of broadband 
    technology across all regions of the Nation.
        (4) The Federal Government should also recognize and encourage 
    complementary State efforts to improve the quality and usefulness 
    of broadband data and should encourage and support the partnership 
    of the public and private sectors in the continued growth of 
    broadband services and information technology for the residents and 
    businesses of the Nation.

SEC. 103 IMPROVING FEDERAL DATA ON BROADBAND.

    (a) Improving Section 706 Inquiry.--Section 706 of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 note) is amended--
        (1) by striking ``regularly'' in subsection (b) and inserting 
    ``annually'';
        (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
        (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Demographic Information for Unserved Areas.--As part of the 
inquiry required by subsection (b), the Commission shall compile a list 
of geographical areas that are not served by any provider of advanced 
telecommunications capability (as defined by section 706(c)(1) of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 note)) and to the extent 
that data from the Census Bureau is available, determine, for each such 
unserved area--
        ``(1) the population;
        ``(2) the population density; and
        ``(3) the average per capita income.''.
    (b) International Comparison.--
        (1) In general.--As part of the assessment and report required 
    by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 
    note), the Federal Communications Commission shall include 
    information comparing the extent of broadband service capability 
    (including data transmission speeds and price for broadband service 
    capability) in a total of 75 communities in at least 25 countries 
    abroad for each of the data rate benchmarks for broadband service 
    utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed tiers.
        (2) Contents.--The Commission shall choose communities for the 
    comparison under this subsection in a manner that will offer, to 
    the extent possible, communities of a population size, population 
    density, topography, and demographic profile that are comparable to 
    the population size, population density, topography, and 
    demographic profile of various communities within the United 
    States. The Commission shall include in the comparison under this 
    subsection--
            (A) a geographically diverse selection of countries; and
            (B) communities including the capital cities of such 
        countries.
        (3) Similarities and differences.--The Commission shall 
    identify relevant similarities and differences in each community, 
    including their market structures, the number of competitors, the 
    number of facilities-based providers, the types of technologies 
    deployed by such providers, the applications and services those 
    technologies enable, the regulatory model under which broadband 
    service capability is provided, the types of applications and 
    services used, business and residential use of such services, and 
    other media available to consumers.
    (c) Consumer Survey of Broadband Service Capability.--
        (1) In general.--For the purpose of evaluating, on a 
    statistically significant basis, the national characteristics of 
    the use of broadband service capability, the Commission shall 
    conduct and make public periodic surveys of consumers in urban, 
    suburban, and rural areas in the large business, small business, 
    and residential consumer markets to determine--
            (A) the types of technology used to provide the broadband 
        service capability to which consumers subscribe;
            (B) the amounts consumers pay per month for such 
        capability;
            (C) the actual data transmission speeds of such capability;
            (D) the types of applications and services consumers most 
        frequently use in conjunction with such capability;
            (E) for consumers who have declined to subscribe to 
        broadband service capability, the reasons given by such 
        consumers for declining such capability;
            (F) other sources of broadband service capability which 
        consumers regularly use or on which they rely; and
            (G) any other information the Commission deems appropriate 
        for such purpose.
        (2) Public availability.--The Commission shall make publicly 
    available the results of surveys conducted under this subsection at 
    least once per year.
    (d) Improving Census Data on Broadband.--The Secretary of Commerce, 
in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, shall 
expand the American Community Survey conducted by the Bureau of the 
Census to elicit information for residential households, including 
those located on native lands, to determine whether persons at such 
households own or use a computer at that address, whether persons at 
that address subscribe to Internet service and, if so, whether such 
persons subscribe to dial-up or broadband Internet service at that 
address.
    (e) Proprietary Information.--Nothing in this title shall reduce or 
remove any obligation the Commission has to protect proprietary 
information, nor shall this title be construed to compel the Commission 
to make publicly available any proprietary information.

SEC. 104. STUDY ON ADDITIONAL BROADBAND METRICS AND STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study to 
consider and evaluate additional broadband metrics or standards that 
may be used by industry and the Federal Government to provide users 
with more accurate information about the cost and capability of their 
broadband connection, and to better compare the deployment and 
penetration of broadband in the United States with other countries. At 
a minimum, such study shall consider potential standards or metrics 
that may be used--
        (1) to calculate the average price per megabit per second of 
    broadband offerings;
        (2) to reflect the average actual speed of broadband offerings 
    compared to advertised potential speeds and to consider factors 
    affecting speed that may be outside the control of a broadband 
    provider;
        (3) to compare, using comparable metrics and standards, the 
    availability and quality of broadband offerings in the United 
    States with the availability and quality of broadband offerings in 
    other industrialized nations, including countries that are members 
    of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; and
        (4) to distinguish between complementary and substitutable 
    broadband offerings in evaluating deployment and penetration.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 
Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on the results of the 
study, with recommendations for how industry and the Federal 
Communications Commission can use such metrics and comparisons to 
improve the quality of broadband data and to better evaluate the 
deployment and penetration of comparable broadband service at 
comparable rates across all regions of the Nation.

SEC. 105. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND SPEED AND PRICE ON SMALL 
              BUSINESSES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to appropriations, the Small Business 
Administration Office of Advocacy shall conduct a study evaluating the 
impact of broadband speed and price on small businesses.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Office shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship, the House of Representatives Committee 
on Energy and Commerce, and the House of Representatives Committee on 
Small Business on the results of the study, including--
        (1) a survey of broadband speeds available to small businesses;
        (2) a survey of the cost of broadband speeds available to small 
    businesses;
        (3) a survey of the type of broadband technology used by small 
    businesses; and
        (4) any policy recommendations that may improve small 
    businesses access to comparable broadband services at comparable 
    rates in all regions of the Nation.

SEC. 106. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE BROADBAND.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of any grant under subsection (b) are--
        (1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State have 
    access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
        (2) to achieve improved technology literacy, increased computer 
    ownership, and broadband use among such citizens and businesses;
        (3) to establish and empower local grassroots technology teams 
    in each State to plan for improved technology use across multiple 
    community sectors; and
        (4) to establish and sustain an environment ripe for broadband 
    services and information technology investment.
    (b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development Grant 
Program.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall award grants, 
    taking into account the results of the peer review process under 
    subsection (d), to eligible entities for the development and 
    implementation of statewide initiatives to identify and track the 
    availability and adoption of broadband services within each State.
        (2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under subsection (b) shall be 
    awarded on a competitive basis.
    (c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--
        (1) submit an application to the Secretary of Commerce, at such 
    time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
    Secretary may require;
        (2) contribute matching non-Federal funds in an amount equal to 
    not less than 20 percent of the total amount of the grant; and
        (3) agree to comply with confidentiality requirements in 
    subsection (h)(2) of this section.
    (d) Peer Review; Nondisclosure.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation require 
    appropriate technical and scientific peer review of applications 
    made for grants under this section.
        (2) Review procedures.--The regulations required under 
    paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and scientific peer 
    review group--
            (A) be provided a written description of the grant to be 
        reviewed;
            (B) provide the results of any review by such group to the 
        Secretary of Commerce; and
            (C) certify that such group will enter into voluntary 
        nondisclosure agreements as necessary to prevent the 
        unauthorized disclosure of confidential and proprietary 
        information provided by broadband service providers in 
        connection with projects funded by any such grant.
    (e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity under 
subsection (b) shall be used--
        (1) to provide a baseline assessment of broadband service 
    deployment in each State;
        (2) to identify and track--
            (A) areas in each State that have low levels of broadband 
        service deployment;
            (B) the rate at which residential and business users adopt 
        broadband service and other related information technology 
        services; and
            (C) possible suppliers of such services;
        (3) to identify barriers to the adoption by individuals and 
    businesses of broadband service and related information technology 
    services, including whether or not--
            (A) the demand for such services is absent; and
            (B) the supply for such services is capable of meeting the 
        demand for such services;
        (4) to identify the speeds of broadband connections made 
    available to individuals and businesses within the State, and, at a 
    minimum, to rely on the data rate benchmarks for broadband service 
    utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed tiers, to 
    promote greater consistency of data among the States;
        (5) to create and facilitate in each county or designated 
    region in a State a local technology planning team--
            (A) with members representing a cross section of the 
        community, including representatives of business, 
        telecommunications labor organizations, K-12 education, health 
        care, libraries, higher education, community-based 
        organizations, local government, tourism, parks and recreation, 
        and agriculture; and
            (B) which shall--
                (i) benchmark technology use across relevant community 
            sectors;
                (ii) set goals for improved technology use within each 
            sector; and
                (iii) develop a tactical business plan for achieving 
            its goals, with specific recommendations for online 
            application development and demand creation;
        (6) to work collaboratively with broadband service providers 
    and information technology companies to encourage deployment and 
    use, especially in unserved areas and areas in which broadband 
    penetration is significantly below the national average, through 
    the use of local demand aggregation, mapping analysis, and the 
    creation of market intelligence to improve the business case for 
    providers to deploy;
        (7) to establish programs to improve computer ownership and 
    Internet access for unserved areas and areas in which broadband 
    penetration is significantly below the national average;
        (8) to collect and analyze detailed market data concerning the 
    use and demand for broadband service and related information 
    technology services;
        (9) to facilitate information exchange regarding the use and 
    demand for broadband services between public and private sectors; 
    and
        (10) to create within each State a geographic inventory map of 
    broadband service, including the data rate benchmarks for broadband 
    service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed 
    tiers, which shall--
            (A) identify gaps in such service through a method of 
        geographic information system mapping of service availability 
        based on the geographic boundaries of where service is 
        available or unavailable among residential or business 
        customers; and
            (B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide broadband 
        deployment in terms of households with high-speed availability.
    (f) Participation Limit.--For each State, an eligible entity may 
not receive a new grant under this section to fund the activities 
described in subsection (d) within such State if such organization 
obtained prior grant awards under this section to fund the same 
activities in that State in each of the previous 4 consecutive years.
    (g) Reporting; Broadband Inventory Map.--The Secretary of Commerce 
shall--
        (1) require each recipient of a grant under subsection (b) to 
    submit a report on the use of the funds provided by the grant; and
        (2) create a web page on the Department of Commerce website 
    that aggregates relevant information made available to the public 
    by grant recipients, including, where appropriate, hypertext links 
    to any geographic inventory maps created by grant recipients under 
    subsection (e)(10).
    (h) Access to Aggregate Data.--
        (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Commission shall 
    provide eligible entities access, in electronic form, to aggregate 
    data collected by the Commission based on the Form 477 submissions 
    of broadband service providers.
        (2) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any provision of Federal or 
    State law to the contrary, an eligible entity shall treat any 
    matter that is a trade secret, commercial or financial information, 
    or privileged or confidential, as a record not subject to public 
    disclosure except as otherwise mutually agreed to by the broadband 
    service provider and the eligible entity. This paragraph applies 
    only to information submitted by the Commission or a broadband 
    provider to carry out the provisions of this title and shall not 
    otherwise limit or affect the rules governing public disclosure of 
    information collected by any Federal or State entity under any 
    other Federal or State law or regulation.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
    Communications Commission.
        (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
            (A) an entity that is either--
                (i) an agency or instrumentality of a State, or a 
            municipality or other subdivision (or agency or 
            instrumentality of a municipality or other subdivision) of 
            a State;
                (ii) a nonprofit organization that is described in 
            section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
            that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such 
            Code; or
                (iii) an independent agency or commission in which an 
            office of a State is a member on behalf of the State; and
            (B) is the single eligible entity in the State that has 
        been designated by the State to receive a grant under this 
        section.
    (j) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as giving any public or private entity established or 
affected by this title any regulatory jurisdiction or oversight 
authority over providers of broadband services or information 
technology.

                     TITLE II--PROTECTING CHILDREN

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the ``Protecting 
Children in the 21st Century Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this title is as 
follows:

Sec. 201. Short title; table of contents.

           SUBTITLE A--PROMOTING A SAFE INTERNET FOR CHILDREN

Sec. 211. Internet safety.
Sec. 212. Public awareness campaign.
Sec. 213. Annual reports.
Sec. 214. Online safety and technology working group.
Sec. 215. Promoting online safety in schools.
Sec. 216. Definitions.

           SUBTITLE B--ENHANCING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 221. Child pornography prevention; forfeitures related to child 
          pornography violations.

           SUBTITLE A--PROMOTING A SAFE INTERNET FOR CHILDREN

SEC. 211. INTERNET SAFETY.

    For the purposes of this title, the issue of Internet safety 
includes issues regarding the use of the Internet in a manner that 
promotes safe online activity for children, protects children from 
cybercrimes, including crimes by online predators, and helps parents 
shield their children from material that is inappropriate for minors.

SEC. 212. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

    The Federal Trade Commission shall carry out a nationwide program 
to increase public awareness and provide education regarding strategies 
to promote the safe use of the Internet by children. The program shall 
utilize existing resources and efforts of the Federal Government, State 
and local governments, nonprofit organizations, private technology and 
financial companies, Internet service providers, World Wide Web-based 
resources, and other appropriate entities, that includes--
        (1) identifying, promoting, and encouraging best practices for 
    Internet safety;
        (2) establishing and carrying out a national outreach and 
    education campaign regarding Internet safety utilizing various 
    media and Internet-based resources;
        (3) facilitating access to, and the exchange of, information 
    regarding Internet safety to promote up-to-date knowledge regarding 
    current issues; and
        (4) facilitating access to Internet safety education and public 
    awareness efforts the Commission considers appropriate by States, 
    units of local government, schools, police departments, nonprofit 
    organizations, and other appropriate entities.

SEC. 213. ANNUAL REPORTS.

    The Commission shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce of the House of Representatives not later than March 31 of 
each year that describes the activities carried out under section 103 
by the Commission during the preceding calendar year.

SEC. 214. ONLINE SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information shall establish an Online Safety and Technology working 
group comprised of representatives of relevant sectors of the business 
community, public interest groups, and other appropriate groups and 
Federal agencies to review and evaluate--
        (1) the status of industry efforts to promote online safety 
    through educational efforts, parental control technology, blocking 
    and filtering software, age-appropriate labels for content or other 
    technologies or initiatives designed to promote a safe online 
    environment for children;
        (2) the status of industry efforts to promote online safety 
    among providers of electronic communications services and remote 
    computing services by reporting apparent child pornography under 
    section 13032 of title 42, United States Code, including any 
    obstacles to such reporting;
        (3) the practices of electronic communications service 
    providers and remote computing service providers related to record 
    retention in connection with crimes against children; and
        (4) the development of technologies to help parents shield 
    their children from inappropriate material on the Internet.
    (b) Report.--Within 1 year after the working group is first 
convened, it shall submit a report to the Assistant Secretary, the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
that--
        (1) describes in detail its findings, including any information 
    related to the effectiveness of such strategies and technologies 
    and any information about the prevalence within industry of 
    educational campaigns, parental control technologies, blocking and 
    filtering software, labeling, or other technologies to assist 
    parents; and
        (2) includes recommendations as to what types of incentives 
    could be used or developed to increase the effectiveness and 
    implementation of such strategies and technologies.
    (c) FACA Not To Apply to Working Group.--The Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the working group.

SEC. 215. PROMOTING ONLINE SAFETY IN SCHOOLS.

    Section 254(h)(5)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
254(h)(5)(b)) is amended--
        (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in clause (i);
        (2) by striking ``minors.'' in clause (ii) and inserting 
    ``minors; and''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following:
                ``(iii) as part of its Internet safety policy is 
            educating minors about appropriate online behavior, 
            including interacting with other individuals on social 
            networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying 
            awareness and response.''.

SEC. 216. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
        (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
    Trade Commission.
        (2) Internet.--The term ``Internet'' means collectively the 
    myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including 
    equipment and operating software, which comprise the interconnected 
    world-wide network of networks that employ the Transmission Control 
    Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor successor protocols 
    to such protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire 
    or radio.

          SUBTITLE B--ENHANCING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ENFORCEMENT

SEC. 221. CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PREVENTION; FORFEITURES RELATED TO CHILD 
              PORNOGRAPHY VIOLATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 503(b)(1) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``or 1464'' in 
subparagraph (D) and inserting ``1464, or 2252''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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