[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3764 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3764
To authorize United States Government efforts to promote and protect
internet freedom in countries where the freedom of information is under
threat.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 7, 2022
Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize United States Government efforts to promote and protect
internet freedom in countries where the freedom of information is under
threat.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Internet Freedom and Operations
(INFO) Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) More than 3,000,000,000 people use the internet around
the world every day to access information.
(2) Authoritarian and repressive governments routinely use
internet access as a means of suppressing information sharing
and communications between people, civil society organizations,
and journalists.
SEC. 3. INTERNET FREEDOM.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to
continue to preserve and expand the internet as an open, global space
for freedom of expression and association.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2023--
(1) $75,000,000 to the Department of State and the United
States Agency for International Development (referred to in
this Act as ``USAID'') to continue efforts to promote internet
freedom, including through the Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor's Internet Freedom program; and
(2) $49,000,000 to the United States Agency for Global
Media (referred to in this Act as ``USAGM'') and grantees for
internet freedom and circumvention technologies.
(c) Other Funding Sources.--In addition to the amounts appropriated
pursuant to subsection (b), the efforts of the Department of State and
USAID to promote internet freedom may be funded through--
(1) the Economic Support Fund authorized under section 531
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346);
(2) the Development Assistance Fund authorized under
section 653(a) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2413(a));
(3) amounts appropriated under the heading ``Assistance for
Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia'' in an appropriations Act;
and
(4) amounts appropriated for USAGM.
SEC. 4. CIRCUMVENTION TECHNOLOGY.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``internet censorship
circumvention tool'' means a software application or other tool that an
individual can use to evade foreign government restrictions on internet
access.
(b) Authorization of Funding.--
(1) In general.--If the government of a foreign country
restricts or closes off internet access to the residents of
such country, or access to certain websites, the Secretary of
State shall make available $2,500,000 from the Economic Support
Fund on an expedited basis to vetted entities already engaged
in internet freedom programs in such country if the Secretary
determines that such use of funds is in the national interest.
(2) Criteria.--Amounts may be made available under
paragraph (1) within 7 days if--
(A) the Secretary of State notifies the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives of such planned expenditure; and
(B) such amounts are expended to provide bandwidth
for private United States companies that received
Federal funding during fiscal year 2021 to provide
unrestricted internet access overseas.
(c) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of USAID
shall jointly submit a report, which may include a classified annex, to
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. Such report shall
describe--
(1) as of the date of the report--
(A) the full scope of Internet Freedom programs
within the Department of State and USAID, including--
(i) Department of State circumvention
efforts; and
(ii) USAID efforts to support internet
infrastructure;
(B) the capacity of internet censorship
circumvention tools supported by the United States
Government that are available for use by individuals in
foreign countries seeking to counteract censors; and
(C) any barriers to the provision of the efforts
described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A),
including access to surge funding; and
(2) any new resources needed to provide the United States
Government with greater capacity to provide and boost internet
access--
(A) to respond rapidly to internet shutdowns in
closed societies; and
(B) to provide internet connectivity to foreign
locations where the provision of additional internet
access service would promote freedom from repressive
regimes.
(d) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the USAGM Chief Executive Officer shall submit a report to
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that describes--
(1) as of the date of the report--
(A) the full scope of Internet Freedom programs
within USAGM, including--
(i) the efforts of the Office of Internet
Freedom; and
(ii) the efforts of the Open Technology
Fund;
(B) the capacity of internet censorship
circumvention tools supported by the Office of Internet
Freedom and grantees of the Open Technology Fund that
are available for use by individuals in foreign
countries seeking to counteract censors; and
(C) any barriers to the provision of the efforts
described in clause (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A),
including access to surge funding; and
(2) successful examples from the Office of Internet Freedom
and Open Technology Fund involving--
(A) responding rapidly to internet shutdowns in
closed societies; and
(B) ensuring uninterrupted circumvention services
for USAGM entities to promote internet freedom within
repressive regimes.
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