Title: Promoting Internet Freedom and Innovation Act of 2019
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Promoting Internet Freedom and Innovation Act of 2019
This bill establishes transparency requirements for a provider of broadband internet service and prohibits a provider from taking certain actions to restrict content.
Specifically, the bill requires a broadband internet provider to disclose accurate management practices, performance information, and commercial terms sufficient for consumers to make informed choices and for entrepreneurs and small businesses to develop, market, and maintain new internet offerings. Additionally a provider is barred from (1) blocking lawful content, applications, or services; (2) prohibiting the use of non-harmful devices; (3) throttling lawful internet traffic; or (4) engaging in paid prioritization.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1096 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1096

 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for open internet 
    requirements for providers of broadband internet access service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2019

  Mrs. Rodgers of Washington introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for open internet 
    requirements for providers of broadband internet access service.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Internet Freedom and 
Innovation Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. OPEN INTERNET REQUIREMENTS.

    Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 14. OPEN INTERNET REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Transparency.--Any person providing broadband internet access 
service shall publicly disclose accurate information regarding the 
network management practices, performance characteristics, and 
commercial terms of its broadband internet access services sufficient 
to enable consumers to make informed choices regarding the purchase and 
use of such services and entrepreneurs and other small businesses to 
develop, market, and maintain internet offerings. The disclosure shall 
be made via a publicly available, easily accessible website.
    ``(b) Prohibition on Blocking, Impairment and Degradation, and Paid 
Prioritization.--A person engaged in the provision of broadband 
internet access service, insofar as the person is so engaged, may not--
            ``(1) block lawful content, applications, services, or 
        nonharmful devices, subject to reasonable network management;
            ``(2) impair or degrade lawful internet traffic on the 
        basis of internet content, application, or service, or use of a 
        nonharmful device, subject to reasonable network management; or
            ``(3) engage in paid prioritization.
    ``(c) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section--
            ``(1) supersedes any obligation or authorization a provider 
        of broadband internet access service may have to address the 
        needs of emergency communications or law enforcement, public 
        safety, or national security authorities, consistent with or as 
        permitted by applicable law, or limits the provider's ability 
        to do so; or
            ``(2) prohibits reasonable efforts by a provider of 
        broadband internet access service to address copyright 
        infringement or other unlawful activity.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Broadband internet access service.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `broadband internet 
                access service' means a mass-market retail service by 
                wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit 
                data to and receive data from all or substantially all 
                internet endpoints, including any capabilities that are 
                incidental to and enable the operation of the 
                communications service, but excluding dial-up internet 
                access service.
                    ``(B) Functional equivalent; evasion.--The term 
                includes any service that--
                            ``(i) the Commission finds to be providing 
                        a functional equivalent of the service 
                        described in subparagraph (A); or
                            ``(ii) is used to evade the protections set 
                        forth in this section.
            ``(2) Edge provider.--The term `edge provider' means any 
        individual or entity that provides any content, application, or 
        service over the internet, and any individual or entity that 
        provides a device used for accessing any content, application, 
        or service over the internet.
            ``(3) End user.--The term `end user' means any individual 
        or entity that uses a broadband internet access service.
            ``(4) Paid prioritization.--The term `paid prioritization' 
        means the management of a broadband provider's network to 
        directly or indirectly favor some traffic over other traffic, 
        including through the use of techniques such as traffic 
        shaping, prioritization, resource reservation, or other forms 
        of preferential traffic management, either--
                    ``(A) in exchange for consideration, monetary or 
                otherwise, from a third party; or
                    ``(B) to benefit an affiliated entity.
            ``(5) Reasonable network management.--The term `reasonable 
        network management' means a practice that has a primarily 
        technical network management justification, but does not 
        include other business practices. A network management practice 
        is reasonable if it is primarily used for and tailored to 
        achieving a legitimate network management purpose, taking into 
        account the particular network architecture and technology of 
        the broadband internet access service.''.
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