Open Internet Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1006 To amend title I of the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for internet openness, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 6, 2019 Mr. LATTA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title I of the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for internet openness, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Internet Act of 4 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. INTERNET OPENNESS. 6 Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 7 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 8 following new section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1006 IH ‘‘SEC. 14. INTERNET OPENNESS. 1 ‘‘(a) DUTIES OF BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS 2 SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that a person 4 is engaged in the provision of broadband internet ac- 5 cess service, such person— 6 ‘‘(A) shall not block lawful content, appli- 7 cations, or services, or prohibit the use of non- 8 harmful devices, subject to reasonable network 9 management; 10 ‘‘(B) shall not unjustly or unreasonably 11 discriminate in transmitting lawful traffic over 12 a consumer’s broadband internet access service; 13 and 14 ‘‘(C) shall disclose accurate and relevant 15 information in plain language regarding the 16 price, performance, and network management 17 practices of such person’s broadband internet 18 access service sufficient— 19 ‘‘(i) for consumers to make informed 20 choices regarding use of such service; and 21 ‘‘(ii) for content, application, service, 22 and device providers to develop and market 23 new internet offerings. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1006 IH ‘‘(2) COMMISSION REQUIREMENTS.—The Com- 1 mission may promulgate rules to implement para- 2 graph (1)(C). Any such rules— 3 ‘‘(A) shall require, at a minimum, such 4 person to display or provide links to the re- 5 quired information on an internet website and 6 to update such information in a timely fashion 7 to reflect material changes in the information 8 subject to such paragraph; and 9 ‘‘(B) shall not require public disclosure 10 of— 11 ‘‘(i) competitively sensitive informa- 12 tion; 13 ‘‘(ii) information that would com- 14 promise network security; or 15 ‘‘(iii) information that would under- 16 mine the efficacy of reasonable network 17 management practices. 18 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 19 of paragraph (1)(B), reasonable network manage- 20 ment shall not be construed to be unjustly or unrea- 21 sonably discriminatory. 22 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 23 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—The Commis- 24 sion shall enforce the duties established in sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1006 IH sections (a)(1)(A) and (a)(1)(B) through adjudica- 1 tion of a complaint alleging that a service violates 2 one or more of such duties. Nothing in this section 3 limits the Commission’s authority to adopt proce- 4 dures for the adjudication of a complaint, to adopt 5 an order requiring compliance from an entity subject 6 to a complaint, to initiate an enforcement action, or 7 to issue a declaratory ruling or guidance. 8 ‘‘(2) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AND PENALTIES.—If 9 the Commission finds that a provider of broadband 10 internet access service has violated any provision of 11 subsection (a), the Commission may issue an order 12 enjoining such violation, including interim injunctive 13 relief. If the Commission finds that a provider of 14 broadband internet access service has engaged in a 15 willful and knowing violation of such subsection, the 16 Commission may issue a fine or forfeiture of no 17 more than $2,000,000 for any practice found to vio- 18 late such subsection, consistent with the procedures 19 in section 503. The Commission may not order the 20 payment of damages for any violation of such sub- 21 section. 22 ‘‘(3) NO ADDITIONAL PRIVATE RIGHTS AU- 23 THORIZED.—Nothing in this section shall be con- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1006 IH strued to authorize any private right of action in 1 court. 2 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER TITLES AND LAWS.— 3 ‘‘(1) THE COMMISSION.—The Commission may 4 not impose regulations on broadband internet access 5 service or any component thereof under title II, ex- 6 cept in the event that a provider of broadband inter- 7 net access service elects to provide the transmission 8 component of such service as a telecommunications 9 service under such title. Except as expressly pro- 10 vided in this section, nothing in this section shall in- 11 crease, reduce, or otherwise alter the Commission’s 12 authority. 13 ‘‘(2) PROVIDERS.—Nothing in this section shall 14 supersede any obligation or authorization a provider 15 of broadband internet access service may have, or 16 limit the provider’s ability, to address the needs of 17 emergency communications, law enforcement, public 18 safety, or national security, consistent with applica- 19 ble law. Nothing in this section shall prohibit reason- 20 able efforts by a provider of broadband internet ac- 21 cess service to address copyright infringement or 22 other unlawful activity. 23 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section 24 shall increase, reduce, or otherwise alter the anti- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1006 IH trust or other authorities of the Department of Jus- 1 tice or the Federal Trade Commission. 2 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 3 ‘‘(1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERV- 4 ICE.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘broadband 6 internet access service’ means a mass-market 7 retail service by wire or radio that provides the 8 capability to transmit data to and receive data 9 from all or substantially all internet endpoints, 10 including any capabilities that are incidental to 11 and enable the operation of the communications 12 service, but excluding dial-up internet access 13 service. 14 ‘‘(B) FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT; EVA- 15 SION.—The term includes any service that— 16 ‘‘(i) the Commission finds to be pro- 17 viding a functional equivalent of the service 18 described in subparagraph (A); or 19 ‘‘(ii) is used to evade the protections 20 set forth in this section. 21 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE NETWORK MANAGEMENT.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘reasonable 23 network management’ means a network man- 24 agement practice that is appropriate and tai- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1006 IH lored to achieving a legitimate network manage- 1 ment function, taking into account the par- 2 ticular network architecture or technology of 3 the provider. 4 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term includes ap- 5 propriate and tailored practices— 6 ‘‘(i) to reduce or mitigate the effects 7 of congestion on a broadband internet ac- 8 cess service provider’s network; 9 ‘‘(ii) to ensure network security or in- 10 tegrity; 11 ‘‘(iii) to address traffic that is harm- 12 ful to or unwanted by— 13 ‘‘(I) users, including premises op- 14 erators; 15 ‘‘(II) the provider’s network; or 16 ‘‘(III) the internet; 17 ‘‘(iv) to meet the needs of public safe- 18 ty; and 19 ‘‘(v) to provide services or capabilities 20 consistent with a consumer’s choices re- 21 garding parental control or security capa- 22 bilities. 23 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 24 whether a network management practice is rea- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1006 IH sonable, the Commission shall consider tech- 1 nical requirements, standards, or best practices 2 adopted by one or more independent, widely 3 recognized internet community governance ini- 4 tiatives or standard-setting organizations.’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Feb 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1006.IH H1006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS