2014 -- H 8361

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

SUPPORTING AN OPEN INTERNET PROTECTED BY THE PRINCIPLE OF NET

NEUTRALITY

     Introduced By: Representatives Handy, Tanzi, Canario, Cimini, and Ajello

     Date Introduced: June 19, 2014

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Broadband Internet Access is an essential part of daily life today for all the

people of Rhode Island, with broadband networks becoming more and more often our basic and

only communications platform; and

     WHEREAS, Access to an open Internet is important for each and every one of our

constituents, as the Internet becomes a driver of our economy, our educational system, our

healthcare services, our government institutions, and our democratic discourse; and

     WHEREAS, Access to an open Internet gives individuals, associations, investors and

entrepreneurs the power to run small businesses, contribute to the marketplace of ideas, partake in

civic engagement, and exercise their freedom of speech; and

     WHEREAS, The Open Internet developed and thrived under the principle that broadband

providers cannot block, discriminate against, or interfere with the lawful content, applications,

and services that these broadband networks carry, and that broadband customers may choose to

access over their connections; and

     WHEREAS, This principle, commonly referred to as Net Neutrality, protects innovation

and creativity by preventing broadband providers from unreasonably favoring or prioritizing their

own voice, video, messaging or other communications services over offerings from entities

unaffiliated with such broadband providers; and

     WHEREAS, This principle preserves the longstanding ideal of ensuring that

communications networks are open to all speakers on similar terms, while ensuring that

broadband providers will continue to invest in abundant capacity rather than creating incentives

for under-investment, scarcity and prioritization of traffic on purposefully congested networks;

and

     WHEREAS, Without the continuation of this Net Neutrality principle, the public will not

benefit from competition, job creation and technological innovation, as our entire economy

becomes more vulnerable to the profit motives of large broadband providers that could charge

new fees for access to broadband customers; and

     WHEREAS, Violations of Net Neutrality create uncertainty and the potential for

broadband providers to extort fees from websites, and thereby threaten Rhode Island businesses

that rely on the Internet, and particularly our burgeoning community of technology start-ups; and

     WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission's authority to safeguard Net

Neutrality, and to ensure that our nation's broadband networks remain competitive, open, and

nondiscriminatory in their carriage of our information, has come into question as a result of a

federal appellate court decision issued in January 2014; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby supports an Open Internet protected by the principle of Net

Neutrality; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives hereby supports the Federal

Communications Commission's adoption of Open Internet rules that will categorically protect our

state's residents and businesses from blocking, discrimination, and undue interference by

broadband providers with the information they carry for their customers; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives hereby supports the Federal

Communications Commission's use of that agency's jurisdiction over all interstate

telecommunications services as the basis of its authority to adopt and enforce these protections

for the free flow of information over our nation's essential broadband communications

infrastructure; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives hereby urges Rhode Island's United

States Senators and Representatives to support, and make known their support, for strong Net

Neutrality regulations that mandate that broadband providers not block, discriminate against, or

interfere with the lawful content, applications, and services that these broadband networks carry,

and that broadband customers may choose to access over their connections; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation, and

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the Chief Information Officer of the State of Rhode Island Division of Information Technology.

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