(1) IN GENERAL- Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission (in this Act referred to as the `Commission') shall commence a proceeding on broadband services and consumer rights.
(2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS- As part of the proceeding under this section, the Commission shall assess--
(A) whether broadband network providers adhere to the Commission's Broadband Policy Statement of August, 2005 (FCC 05-151), including whether, consistent with the needs of law enforcement, such providers refrain from blocking, thwarting, or unreasonably interfering with the ability of consumers to--
(i) access, use, send, receive, or offer lawful content, applications, or services over broadband networks, including the Internet;
(ii) use lawful applications and services of their choice; and
(iii) attach or connect their choice of legal devices to use in conjunction with their broadband telecommunications or information services, provided such devices do not harm the network;
(B) whether broadband network providers add charges for quality of service, or other similar additional fees or surcharges, to certain Internet applications and service providers, and whether such pricing conflicts with the policies of the United States stated in section 12 of the Communications Act of 1934 (as added by section 3 of this Act);
(C) whether broadband network providers offer to consumers parental control protection tools, services to combat unsolicited commercial electronic mail, and other similar consumer services, the manner in which such services are offered, and the extent to which such services are consistent with such policies of the United States;
(D) practices by which network providers manage or prioritize network traffic, including prioritization for emergency communications, and whether and in what instances such practices may be consistent with such policies of the United States;
(E) with respect to content, applications, and services--
(i) the historic economic benefits of an open platform;
(ii) the relationship between competition in the broadband Internet access market and an open platform; and
(iii) the policy choices and results of global competitors with respect to access competition and an open platform;
(F) whether the need for enforceable rules governing openness, consumer rights, and consumer protections or prohibiting unreasonable discrimination is lessened if a broadband network provider provides significantly high bandwidth speeds to consumers; and
(G) the potential of policies promoting openness in spectrum allocation, universal service programs, and video franchising to expand innovation through protection from unreasonable interference by network owners of an open marketplace for speech and commerce in content, applications, and services.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.5353 as Introduced in House Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008
