Sec. 101. Consumer protections
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Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) is amended— by inserting before section 701 the following: ; and by adding at the end the following: Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act , the Commission shall promulgate regulations requiring Internet service providers to disclose certain information that will assist a consumer in making an informed decision about the purchase of Internet service. The regulations under paragraph
(1)shall require, at a minimum, that— any advertising related to Internet service include plain language disclosure of any information the Commission considers necessary for a consumer to make an informed decision about the purchase of that Internet service; an Internet service provider provide a plain language disclosure to a consumer prior to the purchase of Internet service that includes— the length of the contract; the terms of renewal; a projected monthly bill, including all fees and costs associated with the Internet service; if the consumer is receiving promotional pricing for service, a projected monthly bill for service once that promotional pricing period has ended; the procedures to cancel the Internet service, including any policies related to early termination fees; the average actual data transmission speeds, including both upload and download speeds; any policies or practices regarding network management, including limiting service speeds or prioritizing content; and any other information that the Commission considers necessary for the consumer to make an informed decision about the purchase of the Internet service. As part of the rulemaking under subsection (a), the Commission shall promulgate regulations to protect consumers in the use of usage-based billing by Internet service providers. The regulations under paragraph
(1)shall require an Internet service provider to provide a plain language disclosure of all terms and conditions associated with its use of usage-based billing to a consumer prior to the purchase of Internet service. The plain language disclosure under this paragraph shall include— an explanation of how usage-based billing will be applied to the consumer; a complete list of the tiers of service; comparisons of how much data of varying types, including video programming in standard and high-definition, the consumer would be able to consume each month under each tier; the procedure for providing the consumer the notifications under paragraph (4); an explanation of the consequences, if any, to a consumer for exceeding the consumer's data usage amount, including any fees that may be charged and any options a consumer may have to avoid those fees; if the Internet service provider provides a tool for a consumer to monitor the consumer's data usage, a description of the tool and how to use it; the appeals procedure under paragraph (5); and any other information that the Commission considers necessary to protect consumers in the use of usage-based billing by Internet service providers. An Internet service provider that uses usage-based billing shall provide a plain language disclosure to a consumer of the consumer's data usage during each billing cycle as part of the consumer's bill. An Internet service provider that uses usage-based billing shall include in the consumer's bill information documenting the consumer's data usage over the prior 6 monthly bills or over a period beginning on the date that the consumer contracted for the Internet service, whichever is shorter. An Internet service provider that uses usage-based billing shall provide to a consumer notification of the amount of data the consumer has remaining at the midpoint of a billing cycle, and at any other increments the Commission finds are in the public interest. The Commission may determine the form of the notifications required under this paragraph. Each Internet service provider that uses usage-based billing shall establish an appeals procedure for a consumer to obtain more detailed information about the consumer's Internet data usage and to challenge the Internet service provider's determination of that consumer's data usage. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act , the Commission shall update its truth-in-billing rules to extend the rules to Internet service providers. As part of the rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Commission shall consider whether it is in the public interest to establish truth-in-billing rules for bundled communications service packages. The Commission may exempt an Internet service provider serving 20,000 or fewer subscribers from the requirements of this section. The Commission may take into account the special considerations in an Internet service provider's delivery technology, including wireless, when implementing this section. An Internet service provider may not use a data usage monitoring system as part of usage-based billing unless the data usage monitoring system is certified under this section. The Commission, after consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall develop standards to ensure that a data usage monitoring system accurately measures a consumer's usage of data. The Commission may certify a data usage monitoring system for use in usage-based billing if it determines that the data usage monitoring system accurately measures consumer data usage and is in material compliance with the standards under paragraph (2). The Commission may designate 1 or more impartial third parties to conduct the certification of a data usage monitoring system under this section. The Commission shall determine how to ensure that an Internet service provider’s data usage monitoring system remains in compliance with this section. In this section, the term data usage monitoring system means a system of monitoring and calculating the amount of data a user has consumed— while accessing the Internet; while using hardware, software, or applications that consume data transmitted over the Internet; or while accessing another IP-based transmission path provided by an Internet service provider or another entity. The Commission is authorized to assess penalties against any Internet service provider that fails to comply with this section. The Commission shall promulgate regulations to implement this section not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act . The regulations under paragraph
(1)may provide an exemption from the regulations for an Internet service provider serving 20,000 or fewer subscribers. The Commission may take into account the special considerations in an Internet service provider's delivery technology, including wireless, when implementing this section. .
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Sec. 101
Consumer protections
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