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HR 5418 114th Congress House Science, Technology, Communications Congressional oversight Department of Commerce Executive agency funding and structure Internet and video services Internet, web applications, social media Public contracts and procurement

Protecting Internet Freedom Act

Introduced: July 1, 2016 See on congress.gov
This bill died when the 114th Congress ended
It never became law before the 114th Congress (2015–2016) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jun 9, 2016
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Jun 9, 2016
Introduced in House
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Protecting Internet Freedom Act

This bill prohibits the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information from allowing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's responsibility for Internet domain name system functions, including the authoritative root zone file and the performance of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions, to cease unless a federal statute enacted after enactment of this bill expressly grants the Assistant Secretary such authority.

The Assistant Secretary must certify to Congress that the U.S. government has: (1) secured sole ownership of the .gov and .mil top-level domains, and (2) entered into a contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers that provides the U.S. government with exclusive control and use of those domains in perpetuity.

What's happening now June 9, 2016

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

 Related & companion bills 2
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 39
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5418: Protecting Internet Freedom Act. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5418/
MLA
"H.R. 5418: Protecting Internet Freedom Act." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5418/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5418, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5418/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5418: Protecting Internet Freedom Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5418/)
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