HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4432        FILED ON: 12/18/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4151

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Andres X. Vargas

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act protecting consumers by prohibiting blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization in the provision of Internet service.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4432        FILED ON: 12/18/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4151

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act protecting consumers by prohibiting blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization in the provision of Internet service.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to preserve forthwith and uphold the open foundation of the internet by adhering to certain principles, including: free flow of information over the internet; no blocking of lawful websites; no unreasonable discrimination of lawful network traffic;  no paid prioritization; and clear commitment to transparency, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 25C of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:— 

Section 9. Protecting consumers by prohibiting blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization in the provision of internet service

(1) A person engaged in the provision of broadband internet access service in Commonwealth of Massachusetts, insofar as the person is so engaged, may not:

(a) Block lawful content, applications, services, or nonharmful devices, subject to reasonable network management;

(b) 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

(c) Engage in paid prioritization.

(2) The Department of Telecommunications and Cable may waive the prohibition on paid prioritization in subsection (1)(c) of this section only if the petitioner demonstrates that the practice would  provide some significant public interest benefit and would not harm the open nature of the internet in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

(3) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a)(i) "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.

(ii) "Broadband internet access service" also encompasses any service that the federal communications commission finds to be providing a functional equivalent of the service described in (a)(i) of this subsection, or that is used to evade the protections set forth in this section.

(b) "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:

(i) In exchange for consideration (monetary or otherwise) from a third party; or

(ii) To benefit an affiliated entity.

(c) "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 2. Chapter 93 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 115: Violations, penalties

(1) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the Massachusetts Antitrust Act, MGL 93 Section 1. A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the Massachusetts Antitrust Act, MGL 93 Section 1.

(2) This chapter may be enforced solely by the attorney general under Massachusetts Antitrust Act, MGL 93 Section 2.

SECTION 3. Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 78: Receipt of funds internet consumer access account

(1) The internet consumer access account is created in the state treasury and overseen by the Department of the State Treasurer. All receipts from recoveries by the office of the attorney general for lawsuits related to the Massachusetts Antitrust Act under the provisions of this chapter, or otherwise designated to this account, must be deposited into the account.

(2) Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for costs incurred by the office of the attorney general in the administration and enforcement of this chapter.