The General Assembly,
ACKNOWLEDGING that the Internet is a means of communication, collaboration, expression, and business for many;
BELIEVING that access to all lawful content on the Internet is fundamental to both freedom of expression and the growth of small businesses;
DISTURBED that WA nations or Internet Service Providers could arbitrarily restrict access to lawful content or the Internet itself;
HEREBY:
DEFINES
“Internet” as a system of interconnected networks of digital devices used to transfer data between said devices and their networks,
“Internet Service Provider” as an entity that provides the ability to access the Internet to businesses, residents, or other customers such as shops, schools, or libraries, excluding entities who only offer the ability to access the Internet as an additional benefit and not as a primary source of Internet access,
“Bandwidth throttling” as the intentional act of decreasing the speed of a connection below the maximum possible connection speed,
PROHIBITS WA Nations from blocking access to or bandwidth throttling the Internet or specific lawful content, directly or indirectly, including content that is critical of the government or of other government interests,
PROHIBITS Internet Service Providers from blocking access to or bandwidth throttling the Internet or specific lawful content, unless allowed by Clause Four,
ALLOWS blocking access or bandwidth throttling by Internet Service Providers to
Allow all digital devices to receive access to the Internet,
Allow all digital devices access to necessary services in extreme situations, such as natural disasters, or
As a result of a published scale of prices for connection speeds and data caps disclosed to all customers of the Internet Service Provider.
