[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 768 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 768
Calling on African governments to protect and promote human rights
through internet freedom and digital integration for all citizens
across the continent of Africa.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 17, 2019
Ms. Bass (for herself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling on African governments to protect and promote human rights
through internet freedom and digital integration for all citizens
across the continent of Africa.
Whereas access to information and freedom of expression are pillars of an open,
free, and democratic society;
Whereas open and secure access to the internet enables the exercise of human
rights and freedom of expression, allowing people to connect, access
information, and participate in a global society;
Whereas according to Access Now, there were 21 instances of partial or total
internet shutdowns in Africa in 2018, compared with only 4 in 2016;
Whereas governments, including those of Chad, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan,
and Zimbabwe, have restricted access to the internet and disrupted
networks, online applications, and services to censor and interfere with
the flow of information during politically sensitive moments, including
elections, political protests, and mass demonstrations, when unfettered
journalism, public oversight, and political participation are crucial to
bolster democratic processes and the rule of law;
Whereas governments often attempt to justify partial or total internet shutdowns
for purposes of security or to stop the spread of false information;
Whereas the frequency of internet shutdowns has increased across Africa, levying
broad economic costs and directly violating citizens rights to freedom
of expression and access to information;
Whereas African whistleblowers, journalists, bloggers, and other media workers
often lack legal protection and suffer harassment and detention at the
hands of government authorities, often facilitated by invasive and
unauthorized surveillance, with the encouragement, technical expertise,
and financial support of foreign entities and governments;
Whereas some African governments have introduced taxes to discourage citizens
from sharing and accessing information in the digital space, and have
imposed laws and regulations that often target journalists, bloggers,
activists, and others, banning speech and discouraging expression in the
digital space;
Whereas those operating independent news websites and blogs are obstructed
through blocking and censorship, burdensome licensing requirements, and
regulatory measures that effectively limit their audience and their
livelihoods;
Whereas many African governments lack robust data protection and privacy laws,
and the systems to implement such laws, leaving the privacy of citizens
exposed and susceptible to infringement;
Whereas the Communist government in China, through the desire to build a
``digital Silk Road'', has increased cyber activity in Africa through
telecommunications contracts and fiber optic networks which can expose
individuals to greater monitoring and surveillance, and has exported
technology and training to authoritarian officials that have made it
easier to restrict internet access in many African countries;
Whereas Huawei Technologies has reportedly sold products and services to African
governments that have been used to support spying on political
opponents; and
Whereas Russia has been testing new disinformation techniques and tactics
through a series of online networks linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a
Russian oligarch indicted by the United States for meddling in the
United States Presidential election in 2016, in African countries that
include Sudan, Cameroon, Libya, and Mozambique: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns the restriction or disruption of the
internet through methods including network shutdowns,
disruptions, use of ``kill switches'', bandwidth throttling,
high taxes, and the blocking of applications and services
across Africa, and any efforts by foreign governments to
facilitate such activity;
(2) urges African governments to--
(A) promote inclusive and meaningful participation
by all stakeholders in the development of policies on
telecommunications, internet governance, information
and communications technologies, and infrastructure;
(B) prevent the use of broad and invasive
surveillance technologies that violate privacy and
discourage the freedom of expression of all users,
particularly journalists, bloggers, and their sources,
and to ensure accountability for crimes against them;
(C) actively pursue laws and policies that protect
and promote human rights online and offline and review
laws that criminalize free speech that are used to
harass and prosecute those who offer dissenting views
and information;
(D) resist new contracts with authoritarian states,
like China, and avoid digital governance models that
enable technoauthoritarianism and invasive surveillance
capabilities that undermine human rights and restrict
fundamental freedoms; and
(E) work closely with technology companies and
social media services to prevent or take down
disinformation, including disinformation disseminated
by Russia and other actors;
(3) urges telecommunications providers and internet
platforms to employ legal, operational, and technical measures
to promote and facilitate the exercise of human rights online,
and disclose requests from governments or other parties to hand
over user data and to disrupt networks, and their responses
thereto;
(4) urges businesses operating in Africa to facilitate open
and secure access to the internet, and work with stakeholders
to prevent, mitigate, and remedy harms from internet shutdowns
and other disruptions to the free flow of information online;
and
(5) urges businesses operating in Africa to affirm the
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
and adhere to best practices, scrutinizing government or other
third-party requests to interfere with networks, applications,
services, and personal data for any potential human rights
impacts.
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