Leveling the Internet Playing Field for Providers and Consumers
The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act would ensure that the Internet continues to exist as an unfettered medium where startups and businesses of all sizes can provide content and services reachable by all consumers. Because it provides that if data of any kind is prioritized then all data of a similar kind would be entitled to priority treatment without any charge for the prioritization, it would assure that the market power broadband providers now exercise over transmission is not extended to control of content. This measure is particularly important and timely because H.R. 5252, the Energy and Commerce Committee video franchising measure, is insufficient to ensure that broadband network providers do not abuse their market power to discriminate against competitive Internet content or services.