[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1492 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1492
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To improve the quality of Federal and State data regarding the
availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the
deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I--BROADBAND DATA IMPROVEMENT
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Broadband Data Improvement Act''.
SEC. 102 FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The deployment and adoption of broadband technology has
resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for
communities across the Nation, improved health care and
educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for all
Americans.
(2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of
broadband technology is vital to ensuring that our Nation
remains competitive and continues to create business and job
growth.
(3) Improving Federal data on the deployment and adoption
of broadband service will assist in the development of
broadband technology across all regions of the Nation.
(4) The Federal Government should also recognize and
encourage complementary State efforts to improve the quality
and usefulness of broadband data and should encourage and
support the partnership of the public and private sectors in
the continued growth of broadband services and information
technology for the residents and businesses of the Nation.
SEC. 103 IMPROVING FEDERAL DATA ON BROADBAND.
(a) Improving Section 706 Inquiry.--Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 note) is amended--
(1) by striking ``regularly'' in subsection (b) and
inserting ``annually'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Demographic Information for Unserved Areas.--As part of the
inquiry required by subsection (b), the Commission shall compile a list
of geographical areas that are not served by any provider of advanced
telecommunications capability (as defined by section 706(c)(1) of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 note)) and to the extent
that data from the Census Bureau is available, determine, for each such
unserved area--
``(1) the population;
``(2) the population density; and
``(3) the average per capita income.''.
(b) International Comparison.--
(1) In general.--As part of the assessment and report
required by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
(47 U.S.C. 157 note), the Federal Communications Commission
shall include information comparing the extent of broadband
service capability (including data transmission speeds and
price for broadband service capability) in a total of 75
communities in at least 25 countries abroad for each of the
data rate benchmarks for broadband service utilized by the
Commission to reflect different speed tiers.
(2) Contents.--The Commission shall choose communities for
the comparison under this subsection in a manner that will
offer, to the extent possible, communities of a population
size, population density, topography, and demographic profile
that are comparable to the population size, population density,
topography, and demographic profile of various communities
within the United States. The Commission shall include in the
comparison under this subsection--
(A) a geographically diverse selection of
countries; and
(B) communities including the capital cities of
such countries.
(3) Similarities and differences.--The Commission shall
identify relevant similarities and differences in each
community, including their market structures, the number of
competitors, the number of facilities-based providers, the
types of technologies deployed by such providers, the
applications and services those technologies enable, the
regulatory model under which broadband service capability is
provided, the types of applications and services used, business
and residential use of such services, and other media available
to consumers.
(c) Consumer Survey of Broadband Service Capability.--
(1) In general.--For the purpose of evaluating, on a
statistically significant basis, the national characteristics
of the use of broadband service capability, the Commission
shall conduct and make public periodic surveys of consumers in
urban, suburban, and rural areas in the large business, small
business, and residential consumer markets to determine--
(A) the types of technology used to provide the
broadband service capability to which consumers
subscribe;
(B) the amounts consumers pay per month for such
capability;
(C) the actual data transmission speeds of such
capability;
(D) the types of applications and services
consumers most frequently use in conjunction with such
capability;
(E) for consumers who have declined to subscribe to
broadband service capability, the reasons given by such
consumers for declining such capability;
(F) other sources of broadband service capability
which consumers regularly use or on which they rely;
and
(G) any other information the Commission deems
appropriate for such purpose.
(2) Public availability.--The Commission shall make
publicly available the results of surveys conducted under this
subsection at least once per year.
(d) Improving Census Data on Broadband.--The Secretary of Commerce,
in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, shall
expand the American Community Survey conducted by the Bureau of the
Census to elicit information for residential households, including
those located on native lands, to determine whether persons at such
households own or use a computer at that address, whether persons at
that address subscribe to Internet service and, if so, whether such
persons subscribe to dial-up or broadband Internet service at that
address.
(e) Proprietary Information.--Nothing in this title shall reduce or
remove any obligation the Commission has to protect proprietary
information, nor shall this title be construed to compel the Commission
to make publicly available any proprietary information.
SEC. 104. STUDY ON ADDITIONAL BROADBAND METRICS AND STANDARDS.
(a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study to
consider and evaluate additional broadband metrics or standards that
may be used by industry and the Federal Government to provide users
with more accurate information about the cost and capability of their
broadband connection, and to better compare the deployment and
penetration of broadband in the United States with other countries. At
a minimum, such study shall consider potential standards or metrics
that may be used--
(1) to calculate the average price per megabit per second
of broadband offerings;
(2) to reflect the average actual speed of broadband
offerings compared to advertised potential speeds and to
consider factors affecting speed that may be outside the
control of a broadband provider;
(3) to compare, using comparable metrics and standards, the
availability and quality of broadband offerings in the United
States with the availability and quality of broadband offerings
in other industrialized nations, including countries that are
members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development; and
(4) to distinguish between complementary and substitutable
broadband offerings in evaluating deployment and penetration.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce on the results of the
study, with recommendations for how industry and the Federal
Communications Commission can use such metrics and comparisons to
improve the quality of broadband data and to better evaluate the
deployment and penetration of comparable broadband service at
comparable rates across all regions of the Nation.
SEC. 105. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND SPEED AND PRICE ON SMALL
BUSINESSES.
(a) In General.--Subject to appropriations, the Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy shall conduct a study evaluating the
impact of broadband speed and price on small businesses.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Office shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship, the House of Representatives Committee
on Energy and Commerce, and the House of Representatives Committee on
Small Business on the results of the study, including--
(1) a survey of broadband speeds available to small
businesses;
(2) a survey of the cost of broadband speeds available to
small businesses;
(3) a survey of the type of broadband technology used by
small businesses; and
(4) any policy recommendations that may improve small
businesses access to comparable broadband services at
comparable rates in all regions of the Nation.
SEC. 106. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE BROADBAND.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of any grant under subsection (b) are--
(1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State
have access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
(2) to achieve improved technology literacy, increased
computer ownership, and broadband use among such citizens and
businesses;
(3) to establish and empower local grassroots technology
teams in each State to plan for improved technology use across
multiple community sectors; and
(4) to establish and sustain an environment ripe for
broadband services and information technology investment.
(b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development Grant
Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall award
grants, taking into account the results of the peer review
process under subsection (d), to eligible entities for the
development and implementation of statewide initiatives to
identify and track the availability and adoption of broadband
services within each State.
(2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under subsection (b)
shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--
(1) submit an application to the Secretary of Commerce, at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require;
(2) contribute matching non-Federal funds in an amount
equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of the
grant; and
(3) agree to comply with confidentiality requirements in
subsection (h)(2) of this section.
(d) Peer Review; Nondisclosure.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation require
appropriate technical and scientific peer review of
applications made for grants under this section.
(2) Review procedures.--The regulations required under
paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and scientific
peer review group--
(A) be provided a written description of the grant
to be reviewed;
(B) provide the results of any review by such group
to the Secretary of Commerce; and
(C) certify that such group will enter into
voluntary nondisclosure agreements as necessary to
prevent the unauthorized disclosure of confidential and
proprietary information provided by broadband service
providers in connection with projects funded by any
such grant.
(e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity under
subsection (b) shall be used--
(1) to provide a baseline assessment of broadband service
deployment in each State;
(2) to identify and track--
(A) areas in each State that have low levels of
broadband service deployment;
(B) the rate at which residential and business
users adopt broadband service and other related
information technology services; and
(C) possible suppliers of such services;
(3) to identify barriers to the adoption by individuals and
businesses of broadband service and related information
technology services, including whether or not--
(A) the demand for such services is absent; and
(B) the supply for such services is capable of
meeting the demand for such services;
(4) to identify the speeds of broadband connections made
available to individuals and businesses within the State, and,
at a minimum, to rely on the data rate benchmarks for broadband
service utilized by the Commission to reflect different speed
tiers, to promote greater consistency of data among the States;
(5) to create and facilitate in each county or designated
region in a State a local technology planning team--
(A) with members representing a cross section of
the community, including representatives of business,
telecommunications labor organizations, K-12 education,
health care, libraries, higher education, community-
based organizations, local government, tourism, parks
and recreation, and agriculture; and
(B) which shall--
(i) benchmark technology use across
relevant community sectors;
(ii) set goals for improved technology use
within each sector; and
(iii) develop a tactical business plan for
achieving its goals, with specific
recommendations for online application
development and demand creation;
(6) to work collaboratively with broadband service
providers and information technology companies to encourage
deployment and use, especially in unserved areas and areas in
which broadband penetration is significantly below the national
average, through the use of local demand aggregation, mapping
analysis, and the creation of market intelligence to improve
the business case for providers to deploy;
(7) to establish programs to improve computer ownership and
Internet access for unserved areas and areas in which broadband
penetration is significantly below the national average;
(8) to collect and analyze detailed market data concerning
the use and demand for broadband service and related
information technology services;
(9) to facilitate information exchange regarding the use
and demand for broadband services between public and private
sectors; and
(10) to create within each State a geographic inventory map
of broadband service, including the data rate benchmarks for
broadband service utilized by the Commission to reflect
different speed tiers, which shall--
(A) identify gaps in such service through a method
of geographic information system mapping of service
availability based on the geographic boundaries of
where service is available or unavailable among
residential or business customers; and
(B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide
broadband deployment in terms of households with high-
speed availability.
(f) Participation Limit.--For each State, an eligible entity may
not receive a new grant under this section to fund the activities
described in subsection (d) within such State if such organization
obtained prior grant awards under this section to fund the same
activities in that State in each of the previous 4 consecutive years.
(g) Reporting; Broadband Inventory Map.--The Secretary of Commerce
shall--
(1) require each recipient of a grant under subsection (b)
to submit a report on the use of the funds provided by the
grant; and
(2) create a web page on the Department of Commerce website
that aggregates relevant information made available to the
public by grant recipients, including, where appropriate,
hypertext links to any geographic inventory maps created by
grant recipients under subsection (e)(10).
(h) Access to Aggregate Data.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Commission
shall provide eligible entities access, in electronic form, to
aggregate data collected by the Commission based on the Form
477 submissions of broadband service providers.
(2) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any provision of Federal
or State law to the contrary, an eligible entity shall treat
any matter that is a trade secret, commercial or financial
information, or privileged or confidential, as a record not
subject to public disclosure except as otherwise mutually
agreed to by the broadband service provider and the eligible
entity. This paragraph applies only to information submitted by
the Commission or a broadband provider to carry out the
provisions of this title and shall not otherwise limit or
affect the rules governing public disclosure of information
collected by any Federal or State entity under any other
Federal or State law or regulation.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) an entity that is either--
(i) an agency or instrumentality of a
State, or a municipality or other subdivision
(or agency or instrumentality of a municipality
or other subdivision) of a State;
(ii) a nonprofit organization that is
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and that is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; or
(iii) an independent agency or commission
in which an office of a State is a member on
behalf of the State; and
(B) is the single eligible entity in the State that
has been designated by the State to receive a grant
under this section.
(j) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as giving any public or private entity established or
affected by this title any regulatory jurisdiction or oversight
authority over providers of broadband services or information
technology.
TITLE II--PROTECTING CHILDREN
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This title may be cited as the ``Protecting
Children in the 21st Century Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this title is as
follows:
Sec. 201. Short title; table of contents.
SUBTITLE A--PROMOTING A SAFE INTERNET FOR CHILDREN
Sec. 211. Internet safety.
Sec. 212. Public awareness campaign.
Sec. 213. Annual reports.
Sec. 214. Online safety and technology working group.
Sec. 215. Promoting online safety in schools.
Sec. 216. Definitions.
SUBTITLE B--ENHANCING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 221. Child pornography prevention; forfeitures related to child
pornography violations.
SUBTITLE A--PROMOTING A SAFE INTERNET FOR CHILDREN
SEC. 211. INTERNET SAFETY.
For the purposes of this title, the issue of Internet safety
includes issues regarding the use of the Internet in a manner that
promotes safe online activity for children, protects children from
cybercrimes, including crimes by online predators, and helps parents
shield their children from material that is inappropriate for minors.
SEC. 212. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.
The Federal Trade Commission shall carry out a nationwide program
to increase public awareness and provide education regarding strategies
to promote the safe use of the Internet by children. The program shall
utilize existing resources and efforts of the Federal Government, State
and local governments, nonprofit organizations, private technology and
financial companies, Internet service providers, World Wide Web-based
resources, and other appropriate entities, that includes--
(1) identifying, promoting, and encouraging best practices
for Internet safety;
(2) establishing and carrying out a national outreach and
education campaign regarding Internet safety utilizing various
media and Internet-based resources;
(3) facilitating access to, and the exchange of,
information regarding Internet safety to promote up-to-date
knowledge regarding current issues; and
(4) facilitating access to Internet safety education and
public awareness efforts the Commission considers appropriate
by States, units of local government, schools, police
departments, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate
entities.
SEC. 213. ANNUAL REPORTS.
The Commission shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation not later than March 31 of each
year that describes the activities carried out under section 103 by the
Commission during the preceding calendar year.
SEC. 214. ONLINE SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information shall establish an Online Safety and Technology working
group comprised of representatives of relevant sectors of the business
community, public interest groups, and other appropriate groups and
Federal agencies to review and evaluate--
(1) the status of industry efforts to promote online safety
through educational efforts, parental control technology,
blocking and filtering software, age-appropriate labels for
content or other technologies or initiatives designed to
promote a safe online environment for children;
(2) the status of industry efforts to promote online safety
among providers of electronic communications services and
remote computing services by reporting apparent child
pornography under section 13032 of title 42, United States
Code, including any obstacles to such reporting;
(3) the practices of electronic communications service
providers and remote computing service providers related to
record retention in connection with crimes against children;
and
(4) the development of technologies to help parents shield
their children from inappropriate material on the Internet.
(b) Report.--Within 1 year after the working group is first
convened, it shall submit a report to the Assistant Secretary and the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that--
(1) describes in detail its findings, including any
information related to the effectiveness of such strategies and
technologies and any information about the prevalence within
industry of educational campaigns, parental control
technologies, blocking and filtering software, labeling, or
other technologies to assist parents; and
(2) includes recommendations as to what types of incentives
could be used or developed to increase the effectiveness and
implementation of such strategies and technologies.
(c) FACA Not To Apply to Working Group.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the working group.
SEC. 215. PROMOTING ONLINE SAFETY IN SCHOOLS.
Section 254(h)(5)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
254(h)(5)(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in clause (i);
(2) by striking ``minors.'' in clause (ii) and inserting
``minors; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) as part of its Internet safety
policy is educating minors about appropriate
online behavior, including interacting with
other individuals on social networking websites
and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness
and response.''.
SEC. 216. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Internet.--The term ``Internet'' means collectively the
myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including
equipment and operating software, which comprise the
interconnected world-wide network of networks that employ the
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any
predecessor successor protocols to such protocol, to
communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.
TITLE II--ENHANCING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 221. CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PREVENTION; FORFEITURES RELATED TO CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY VIOLATIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 503(b)(1) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``or 1464'' in
subparagraph (D) and inserting ``1464, or 2252''.
Passed the Senate September 26 (legislative day, September
17), 2008.
Attest:
Secretary.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1492
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To improve the quality of Federal and State data regarding the
availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the
deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation.