SECTION 1. INTERNET OPENNESS.

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. INTERNET OPENNESS.

‘‘(a) OBLIGATIONS OF BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE PROVIDERS. — A person engaged in the provision of broadband internet access service, insofar as such person is so engaged—

‘‘   (1) may not block lawful content, applications, or services, subject to reasonable network management;

‘‘   (2) may not prohibit the use of non-harmful devices, subject to reasonable network management;

‘‘   (3) may not throttle lawful traffic by selectively slowing, speeding, degrading, or enhancing internet traffic based on source, destination, or content, subject to reasonable network management;

‘‘   (4) may not engage in paid prioritization; and

‘‘   (5) shall publicly disclose accurate and relevant information in plain language regarding the network management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its broadband internet access services sufficient for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such services and for content, application, service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain internet offerings, except that a provider is not required to publicly disclose

• competitively sensitive information or
• information that could compromise network security or undermine the efficacy of reasonable network management practices.

‘‘(b) COMMISSION AUTHORITY. —

‘‘   (1) IN GENERAL. — The Commission shall enforce the obligations established in subsection (a) through adjudication of complaints alleging violations of such subsection but may not expand the internet openness obligations for provision of broadband internet access service beyond the obligations established in such subsection, whether by rulemaking or otherwise.

‘‘   (2) FORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURES. — Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Commission shall adopt formal complaint procedures to address alleged violations of subsection (a).

‘‘(c) OTHER LAWS AND CONSIDERATIONS. — 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) CONSUMER CHOICE. —

‘‘   (1) IN GENERAL. — Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit consumers’ choice of service plans or consumers’ control over their chosen broadband internet access service or, except as provided in paragraph (2), the ability of broadband internet access service providers to offer specialized services.

‘‘   (2) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PRACTICES REGARDING SPECIALIZED SERVICES. — Specialized services may not be offered or provided in ways that threaten the meaningful availability of broadband internet access service or that have been devised or promoted in a manner designed to evade the purposes of this section.

‘‘(e) BROADBAND TO BE CONSIDERED INFORMATION SERVICE. — Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provision of broadband internet access service or any other mass market retail service providing advanced telecommunications capability (as defined in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302)) shall be considered to be an information service.

‘‘(f) REASONABLE NETWORK MANAGEMENT. — For purposes of subsection (a), a network management practice is reasonable if it is appropriate and tailored to achieving a legitimate network management purpose, taking into account the particular network architecture and any technology and operational limitations of the broadband internet access service provider.

‘‘(g) 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 subsection (a).

‘‘   (2) PAID PRIORITIZATION. — The term ‘paid
prioritization’ means the speeding up or slowing down of some internet traffic in relation to other internet traffic over the consumer’s broadband internet access service by prioritizing or deprioritizing packets based on compensation or lack thereof by the sender to the broadband internet access service provider.

‘‘   (3) SPECIALIZED SERVICES. — The term ‘specialized services’ means services other than broadband internet access service that are offered over the same network as, and that may share network capacity with, broadband internet access service.’’.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY UNDER SECTION 706 OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996.

(a) IN GENERAL. — Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended—

   (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and

   (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

‘‘(d) NO GRANT OF AUTHORITY. — The Commission or a State commission with regulatory jurisdiction over telecommunications services may not rely on this section as a grant of authority.’’.

(b) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. — Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is further amended—

   (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(as defined’’ and all that follows through ‘‘note))’’; and

   (2) in subsection (e), as redesignated, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’.

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 main- tain 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.’’.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the Open Internet Act of 2019.

SEC. 2. INTERNET OPENNESS.

Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 7U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 14. INTERNET OPENNESS.

‘‘(a) DUTIES OF BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE PROVIDERS. —

‘‘   (1) IN GENERAL. — To the extent that a person is engaged in the provision of broadband internet access service, such person —

‘‘      (A) shall not block lawful content, applications, or services, or prohibit the use of non-harmful devices, subject to reasonable network management;

‘‘      (B) shall not unjustly or unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful traffic over a consumer’s broadband internet access service; and

‘‘      (C) shall disclose accurate and relevant information in plain language regarding the price, performance, and network management practices of such person’s broadband internet access service sufficient —

‘‘         (i) for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such service; and

‘‘         (ii) for content, application, service, and device providers to develop and market new internet offerings.

‘‘   (2) COMMISSION REQUIREMENTS. — The Commission may promulgate rules to implement paragraph (1)(C). Any such rules —

‘‘      (A) shall require, at a minimum, such person to display or provide links to the required information on an internet website and to update such information in a timely fashion to reflect material changes in the information subject to such paragraph; and

‘‘      (B) shall not require public disclosure of —

‘‘         (i) competitively sensitive information

‘‘         (ii) information that would compromise network security; or

‘‘         (iii) information that would undermine the efficacy of reasonable network management practices.

‘‘   (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. — For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), reasonable network management shall not be construed to be unjustly or unreasonably discriminatory.

‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT. —

‘‘   (1) COMMISSION AUTHORITY. — The Commission shall enforce the duties established in subsections (a)(1)(A) and (a)(1)(B) through adjudication of a complaint alleging that a service violates one or more of such duties. Nothing in this section limits the Commission’s authority to adopt procedures for the adjudication of a complaint, to adopt an order requiring compliance from an entity subject to a complaint, to initiate an enforcement action, or to issue a declaratory ruling or guidance.

‘‘   (2) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AND PENALTIES.—If the Commission finds that a provider of broadband internet access service has violated any provision of subsection (a), the Commission may issue an order enjoining such violation, including interim injunctive relief. If the Commission finds that a provider of broadband internet access service has engaged in a willful and knowing violation of such subsection, the Commission may issue a fine or forfeiture of no more than $2,000,000 for any practice found to violate such subsection, consistent with the procedures in section 503. The Commission may not order the payment of damages for any violation of such subsection.

‘‘   (3) NO ADDITIONAL PRIVATE RIGHTS AUTHORIZED. — Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize any private right of action in court.

‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER TITLES AND LAWS.

‘‘   (1) THE COMMISSION. — The Commission may not impose regulations on broadband internet access service or any component thereof under title II, except in the event that a provider of broadband internet access service elects to provide the transmission component of such service as a telecommunications service under such title. Except as expressly provided in this section, nothing in this section shall increase, reduce, or otherwise alter the Commission’s authority.

‘‘   (2) PROVIDERS. — Nothing in this section shall supersede any obligation or authorization a provider of broadband internet access service may have, or limit the provider’s ability, to address the needs of emergency communications, law enforcement, public safety, or national security, consistent with applicable law. Nothing in this section shall prohibit reasonable efforts by a provider of broadband internet access service to address copyright infringement or other unlawful activity.

‘‘   (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall increase, reduce, or otherwise alter the anti-trust or other authorities of the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. "(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 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) REASONABLE NETWORK MANAGEMENT.—

‘‘      (A) IN GENERAL. — The term ‘reasonable network management’ means a network management practice that is appropriate and tailored to achieving a legitimate network management function, taking into account the particular network architecture or technology of the provider.

‘‘      (B) INCLUSIONS. — The term includes appropriate and tailored practices—

‘‘         (i) to reduce or mitigate the effects of congestion on a broadband internet access service provider’s network;

‘‘         (ii) to ensure network security or integrity;

‘‘         (iii) to address traffic that is harmful to or unwanted by—

‘‘            (I) users, including premises operators;

‘‘               (II) the provider’s network; or

‘‘               (III) the internet;

‘‘         (iv) to meet the needs of public safety; and

‘‘         (v) to provide services or capabilities consistent with a consumer’s choices regarding parental control or security capabilities.

‘‘      (C) CONSIDERATIONS. — In determining whether a network management practice is reasonable, the Commission shall consider technical requirements, standards, or best practices adopted by one or more independent, widely-recognized internet community governance initiatives or standard-setting organizations.’’