An Analysis of Dueling Net Neutrality Bills

The House will vote on H.R. 1644 (Save the Internet Act of 2019), introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), which would reinstate the net neutrality protections of the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order. H.R. 1096 (Promoting Internet Freedom and Innovation Act of 2019), a competing measure introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), purports to restore the Open Internet Order’s rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization, as well as the transparency rule. Both bills have been touted as means to restore comprehensive net neutrality protections for all Americans. A comparison of the bills’ protections shows that only H.R. 1644 would achieve that goal. H.R. 1644 restores all of the 2015 net neutrality rules, as well as the important protections and clarifications that were codified in the text of the 2015 Open Internet Order which explained the rules and closed known loopholes. H.R. 1096 does not include all of the 2015 net neutrality rules or any of the protections included in the text of the 2015 Open Internet Order. As a result, H.R. 1096 creates significant loopholes and drastically reduces the level of protection compared to the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality protections that the bill is designed to replace. That leaves Americans unprotected against known net neutrality violations.