[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2372 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H.R. 2372

     To ensure that the development of the Internet and interactive 
    computer services is unfettered by Federal and State regulation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1997

Mr. White (for himself, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Cox of 
 California, and Mr. Lazio of New York) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To ensure that the development of the Internet and interactive 
    computer services is unfettered by Federal and State regulation.

    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 ``Internet Protection Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. PROVISION OF INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES.

    Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting 
after section 230 (47 U.S.C. 230) the following new section:

``SEC. 231. PROVISION OF INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES.

    ``(a) Policies.--The policies of this section are as follows:
            ``(1) Private initiative.--In order to support rapid and 
        efficient technological and commercial innovation, deployment, 
        and adoption of Internet information services, it shall be the 
        policy of the United States to rely on private initiative and 
        to avoid, to the maximum extent possible, government 
        restriction or supervision of such services.
            ``(2) Affirmation of commission public interest judgment.--
        Except as set forth in this section--
                    ``(A) regulation of Internet information services, 
                including services previously referred to in Commission 
                actions as enhanced services, is not in the public 
                interest; and
                    ``(B) the Congress reserves the authority to 
                determine when and if, after the date of enactment of 
                this section, regulation of Internet information 
                services is in the public interest.
            ``(3) Interstate and international implications.--It shall 
        be the policy of the Federal Government in its relationships 
        with both foreign governments and the States of the Union, to 
        support and advance the policies of this section and the 
        purposes of this Act.
    ``(b) Freedom From Regulation.--
            ``(1) Limitations on commission authority.--Except as 
        expressly provided in this section, nothing in this Act shall 
        be construed to grant authority to the Commission with respect 
        to--
                    ``(A) the rates, charges, practices, 
                classifications, facilities, or services for or in 
                connection with the provision of Internet information 
                services to customers;
                    ``(B) technical specifications or standards for the 
                provision of Internet information services; or
                    ``(C) any other regulation of the provision of 
                Internet information services.
            ``(2) Parallel limitation and supersession of state 
        authority.--Notwithstanding section 2(b) or any other provision 
        of this Act--
                    ``(A) no State commission shall have any authority 
                to take any action with respect to Internet information 
                services that the Commission is prohibited by this 
                section from taking with respect to such services; and
                    ``(B) no State commission shall have any authority 
                to take any action with respect to Internet information 
                services that is inconsistent with, or that would 
                substantially frustrate, an action taken by the 
                Commission with respect to such services, including an 
                action to withdraw, or refrain from, regulation of such 
                services.
            ``(3) Exceptions to federal and state limitations.--
                    ``(A) Access to telecommunications services.--
                Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the 
                Commission or a State commission from--
                            ``(i) prohibiting any incumbent local 
                        exchange carrier that is engaged in the 
                        provision of Internet information services from 
                        subsidizing its provision of such services from 
                        revenues obtained from the provision of 
                        telephone exchange service, telephone toll 
                        service, or telephone exchange access service; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) prohibiting any incumbent local 
                        exchange carrier from preferring or 
                        discriminating in favor of its Internet 
                        information service operations in its provision 
                        of telecommunications service.
                    ``(B) Telecommunications act implementation.--
                Nothing in this subsection shall limit or otherwise 
                affect the implementation of the Telecommunications Act 
                of 1996 (P.L. 104-104) or the amendments made by such 
                Act.
                    ``(C) National security, law enforcement, network 
                reliability.--Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 
                the Commission from taking actions necessary to protect 
                national security or network reliability, or assist law 
                enforcement, as otherwise authorized by this Act or the 
                Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.
    ``(c) Deregulatory Leverage From Internet Information Services.--
            ``(1) Deregulation based on adoption of internet 
        information service substitutes.--With respect to any 
        geographic market, a service provided by a nonaffiliated 
        Internet information service provider is a substitute for a 
        comparable regulated service for a substantial portion of the 
        geographic market for such regulated service, the Commission 
        shall forbear from applying any regulation or any provision of 
        any title of this Act to the provision of such comparable 
        regulated service within such market if the Commission 
        determines that--
                    ``(A) enforcement of such regulation or provision 
                is not necessary to ensure that the charges, practices, 
                classifications, or regulations by, for, or in 
                connection with that service are just and reasonable 
                and are not unjustly or unreasonably discriminatory;
                    ``(B) enforcement of such regulation or provision 
                is not necessary for the protection of consumers;
                    ``(C) forbearance is necessary to promote parity 
                among service providers; and
                    ``(D) forbearance is consistent with the public 
                interest.
            ``(2) Petition for forbearance.--Any person that provides 
        any regulated service may submit a petition to the Commission 
        requesting that the Commission exercise the authority granted 
        under this subsection with respect to that person, or any 
        regulated service offered by that person within a geographic 
        market. Any such petition shall be deemed granted if the 
        Commission does not deny the petition for failure to meet the 
        requirements for forbearance under paragraph (1) within one 
        year after the Commission receives it. The Commission may grant 
        or deny a petition in whole or in part.
            ``(3) State limitation.--A State commission may not 
        continue to apply or enforce any provision of this Act that the 
        Commission has determined to forbear from applying under 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Limitation.--The Commission may not forbear from 
        applying the requirements of section 251(c) or 271 under 
        paragraph (1) of this section until it determines that those 
        requirements have been fully implemented.
    ``(d) Duty of Commission to Report Need for Additional 
Exceptions.--
            ``(1) Ongoing information.--The Commission shall keep the 
        Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation of the Senate 
        fully and currently informed with respect to developments in 
        the provision of Internet information services.
            ``(2) Need for legislative changes.--If, any time after the 
        date of enactment of this section, the Commission determines 
        that any such development requires that a limitation on the 
        Commission under this section be removed, or that an exception 
        to any such limitation be granted, the Commission shall 
        promptly report such determination to the Congress, together 
        with the Commission's recommendations for appropriate 
        legislative changes.
    ``(e) Internet Information Services Definition.--As used in this 
section, the term `Internet information service' means any information 
service, and--
            ``(1) includes--
                    ``(A) the Internet, and the provision of access to, 
                and access software for, the Internet; and
                    ``(B) interactive computer services, and the 
                provision of access to, and access software for, 
                interactive computer services; but
            ``(2) does not include, except for purposes of subsection 
        (c), the provision of video programming (as such term is 
        defined in section 602) directly to subscribers.
    ``(f) Additional Definitions.--
            ``(1) Internet; interactive computer services.--The terms 
        `Internet' and `interactive computer service' have the meanings 
        provided in section 230(e).
            ``(2) Incumbent local exchange carrier.--The term 
        `incumbent local exchange carrier' has the meaning provided in 
        section 251(h).
            ``(3) Regulated service.--The term `regulated service' 
        means any service that the Commission, pursuant to title II, 
        III, or VI, has authority with respect to--
                    ``(A) the rates, charges, practices, 
                classifications, facilities, or services for or in 
                connection with the provision of such service;
                    ``(B) technical specifications or standards for the 
                provision of such service; or
                    ``(C) any other regulation of the provision of such 
                service to customers.''.
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