Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006
Summary
The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006 was a legislative proposal designed to establish "net neutrality" rules by amending federal antitrust laws. The bill would have required high-speed internet providers to treat all online content equally, prohibiting them from blocking lawful websites, slowing down specific applications, or charging extra fees to ensure faster delivery of certain data.
For the average citizen, this bill aimed to ensure that internet service providers could not dictate what information or services a user could access based on the provider's own business interests. It would have protected the right of consumers to connect any legal device to their home network and required companies to be transparent about their service terms. While the bill allowed providers to manage network traffic for emergencies or security, it sought to prevent the creation of "fast lanes" that could favor wealthy content providers over smaller websites or individual users.