HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	53
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGing the united states congress to Oppose the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules and to Pass legislation that would retain net neutrality nationwide.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the people of the State of Hawaii and the United States use and depend on the internet for personal, academic, professional, and social purposes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the lack of net neutrality rules prior to 2015 allowed internet service providers to favor certain content or service providers over others without informing their customers of such favoritism; and

 

     WHEREAS, the net neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in February 2015 ("2015 net neutrality rules") required internet service providers to offer equal access to websites to their customers, regardless of the customer's internet service plan and regardless of payment by commercial websites; and

 

     WHEREAS, the 2015 net neutrality rules have prevented unequal access to websites because of monetary influence and have thus allowed internet users to access the websites of their own choosing without internet service providers' slowing down data from disfavored websites and speeding up data from favored ones; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposed new rules of the Federal Communications Commission would harm:

 

     (1)  Internet entrepreneurs, who could be forced to pay fees for faster delivery of their content; and

 

     (2)  Internet users, because the new rules would create incentives for internet service providers to block and throttle websites in order to obtain extra fees from consumers or content providers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the ability of internet service providers to control users' access to online content results in the undue and unjust influence of powerful economic forces and undermines individuals' ability to freely access information or communicate; and

 

     WHEREAS, the ability of internet service providers to control users' access to online content would effectively transform internet service providers into information gatekeepers who could place profits over consumer interests while also controlling what internet users can view and express online; and

 

     WHEREAS, the internet has become a public utility, similar to power and water, and every user has the right to access online content without interference or manipulation by an internet service provider; and

 

     WHEREAS, various states, including New York, Montana, California, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Washington, and Massachusetts, have enacted or will enact their own net neutrality laws to address the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules, thereby producing a patchwork of different laws in different states; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has joined 22 other states in filing a petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from overturning the 2015 net neutrality rules; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that Congress is urged to:

     (1)  Oppose the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules; and

 

     (2)  Pass legislation that would retain net neutrality nationwide, thus allowing individuals equal access to the internet, without any other type of interference or manipulation by internet service providers; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President and Vice President of the United States, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Minority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Net Neutrality