[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1580 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1580

     To affirm the policy of the United States regarding Internet 
                              governance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 2013

 Mr. Walden (for himself, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Hall, Mr. Lance, Mr. Gardner, 
 Mr. Olson, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Long, Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois, 
   Mr. Bilirakis, Mrs. Ellmers, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. McKinley, Mr. 
Dingell, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Pompeo, Mr. Shimkus, 
   Mr. Latta, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Royce, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Scalise, Mrs. 
     Blackburn, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Murphy of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Terry, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. 
Welch, Mr. Barton, and Mr. Pitts) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To affirm the policy of the United States regarding Internet 
                              governance.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Given the importance of the Internet to the global 
        economy, it is essential that the Internet remain stable, 
        secure, and free from government control.
            (2) The world deserves the access to knowledge, services, 
        commerce, and communication, the accompanying benefits to 
        economic development, education, and health care, and the 
        informed discussion that is the bedrock of democratic self-
        government that the Internet provides.
            (3) The structure of Internet governance has profound 
        implications for competition and trade, democratization, free 
        expression, and access to information.
            (4) Countries have obligations to protect human rights, 
        whether exercised online or offline.
            (5) The ability to innovate, develop technical capacity, 
        grasp economic opportunities, and promote freedom of expression 
        online is best realized in cooperation with all stakeholders.
            (6) Proposals have been, and will likely continue to be, 
        put forward at international regulatory bodies that would 
        fundamentally alter the governance and operation of the 
        Internet.
            (7) The proposals would attempt to justify increased 
        government control over the Internet and could undermine the 
        current multistakeholder model that has enabled the Internet to 
        flourish and under which the private sector, civil society, 
        academia, and individual users play an important role in 
        charting its direction.
            (8) The proposals would diminish the freedom of expression 
        on the Internet in favor of government control over content.
            (9) The position of the United States Government has been 
        and is to advocate for the flow of information free from 
        government control.
            (10) This Administration and past Administrations have made 
        a strong commitment to the multistakeholder model of Internet 
        governance and the promotion of the global benefits of the 
        Internet.

SEC. 2. POLICY REGARDING INTERNET GOVERNANCE.

    It is the policy of the United States to preserve and advance the 
successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.
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