Wyden bill would protect Internet users from data cap abuse

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced a bill Thursday that would ensure Internet Service Providers (ISPs) aren’t capping the amount of data people can use in order to drive up costs.

“As the Internet becomes increasingly important to American consumers, businesses and innovators, Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, are increasingly imposing caps on the amount of data that consumers may move over the Net,” Wyden said when introducing the bill. “Unfortunately, because of a lack of competition in Internet broadband services, the imposition of data caps raises a public policy concern.”

The Data Cap Integrity Act would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish standards for how ISPs will measure data and empowers the agency to ensure that data caps are designed to manage network congestion rather than monetize data in ways that undermine online innovation. The measure also ensures that consumers can manage their data consumption and that ISPs cannot, for purposes of measuring data, discriminate against any content.

Companies such as Comcast charge Internet users depending on how much data they consume while using the Internet. As bandwidth becomes limited with more and more Internet users, companies are forced to cap the amount of data transferred in order to limit congestion. Wyden’s bill would check that companies are truly trying to limit congestion, rather than installing caps to increase demand and price. His bill would also allow people to better monitor their personal data use, so they know if they're being overcharged.

Wyden said S. 3703 would aid business competition and help grow the economy.

“Internet use is central to our lives and to our economy,” Wyden said. “Future innovation will undoubtedly require consumers to use more and more data; data caps should not impede this innovation and the jobs it creates.”

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