NationStates Jolt Archive

SECTION 1. TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to ensure competitive and nondiscriminatory access to the Internet.

SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION BY NETWORK PROVIDERS

(a) It shall be unlawful for any broadband network provider--

`(1) to fail to provide its broadband network services on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions such that any person can offer or provide content, applications, or services to or over the network in a manner that is at least equal to the manner in which the provider or its affiliates offer content, applications, and services, free of any surcharge on the basis of the content, application, or service;

`(2) to refuse to interconnect its facilities with the facilities of another provider of broadband network services on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms or conditions;

`(3)(A) to block, to impair, to discriminate against, or to interfere with the ability of any person to use a broadband network service to access, to use, to send, to receive, or to offer lawful content, applications or services over the Internet; or

`(B) to impose an additional charge to avoid any conduct that is prohibited by this subsection;

`(4) to prohibit a user from attaching or using a device on the provider's network that does not physically damage or materially degrade other users' utilization of the network; or

`(5) to fail to clearly and conspicuously disclose to users, in plain language, accurate information concerning any terms, conditions, or limitations on the broadband network service.

`(b) If a broadband network provider prioritizes or offers enhanced quality of service to data of a particular type, it must prioritize or offer enhanced quality of service to all data of that type (regardless of the origin or ownership of such data) without imposing a surcharge or other consideration for such prioritization or enhanced quality of service.

`(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a broadband network provider from taking reasonable and nondiscriminatory measures--

`(1) to manage the functioning of its network to protect the security of such network and broadband network services if such management does not result in discrimination among the content, applications, or services on the network;

`(2) to give priority to emergency communications; or

`(3) to prevent a violation of Intenation or National law, or to comply with an order of a court to enforce such law

Note this is an edited version of H. R. 5994 edited for WA

First comment is that it's very hard to read, what with all those sections and sub-sections. Using the H.R. outlining conventions just doesn't work in this format.

Lose Sections 1 and 2 and make them a Preamble.

The rest of it needs to rearranged, as you have two different sets of (1,2,3) mixed with (a,b,c). I'd suggest (1, 1.1, 1.2, 2, 2.1, 2.1.1) for nested clauses.

Or you could just rearrange it so it fit a simpler format. All that nesting is just confusing.

Also, lose the leading ` on every line. It adds nothing.


Finally, what Category and Effect do you plan on using? This one sorta falls through the cracks, and all your work is meaningless if you can't fit it into game terms.

It's not really an 'edited' version: you've just copied all the substantive text and removed the trimmings. There's none of your own material in this proposal. Illegal or not, I don't really see it as appropriate; besides, there are more important issues for the WA, such as stopping war and disease.

Broadband network providers are known as ISPs (Internet Service Providers)-that's the legal term.