,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gchj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #d1 #bjbf,mr4 ,swalwell 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,tenney1 ,ms4 ,ansari1 ,ms4 ,salazar1 ,mr4 ,min1 and ,mrs4 ,bice7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to make certain improvements relating to the coordination of efforts to promote internet freedom and access to information in ,iran1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,internet ,reach and ,access ,now ,act or the ,,iran ,act4 #b4 ,findings2 sense of ,congress 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the followings3 7#a7 ,the ,government of ,iran has repeatedly disrupted1 throttled1 or shut down internet connectivity1 impeding the ability of the ,iranian people to communicate during emergencies and to exercise internationally recognized human rights4 7#b7 ,satellite-based residential and ,direct-to-,cell 7,,dtc7 communications1 ,virtual ,private ,networks 7,v,p,ns71 embedded-,,sim 7e,s,i,m7 technology1 and other circumvention tools can mitigate those shutdowns1 but ,iranian users face high costs1 sanctions-related equipment barriers1 and pervasive digital surveillance4 7#c7 ,clarifying ,united ,states policy and supporting secure connectivity tools will materially enhance internet resilience for the people of ,iran4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that ,united ,states policy should-- 7#a7 promote the deployment of ,,dtc communications1 ,v,p,ns1 e,s,i,m technology1 and other secure communications tools that enhance open access to the internet in ,iran2 and 7#b7 ensure that sanctions and export-control regulations are implemented in a manner that does not unintentionally hinder access to such tools by the ,iranian people4 #c4 ,improved coordination of efforts to promote internet freedom in ,iran 7a7 ,duties of the secretary of state ,the ,secretary of ,state shall be the ,federal official with primary responsibility for-- 7#a7 promoting widespread internet freedom in ,iran and expanding access to information for ,iranian citizens2 7#b7 coordinating all efforts carried out by ,federal departments and agencies that relate to digitalfreedom initiatives in ,iran2 and 7#c7 serving as the principal official responsible for updating and carrying out the strategy required under section #dad of the ,iran ,threat ,reduction and ,syria ,human ,rights ,act of #bjab 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #hged74 7b7 ,updates to comprehensive strategy ,to promote ,internet freedom and access to information in ,iran 7#a7 ,updates ,section #dad of the ,iran ,threat ,reduction and ,syria ,human ,rights ,act of #bjab 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #hged7 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking ,not later than and inserting 7a7 ,initial strategy4--,not later than2 7,b7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#aa7 and 7#ab7 as paragraphs 7#ad7 and 7#ae71 respectively2 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#aj7 the following new paragraphs3 7#aa7 evaluate the use of virtual private networks and direct-to-cell satellite technologies by civil society and human rights activists in ,iran and develop strategies for increasing the accessibility of such networks and technologies2 7#ab7 work with the ,department of the ,treasury and the ,department of ,commerce to ensure enforcement of sanctions does not impede companies providing to ,iranian civilians the technology and other tools necessary to access the open internet2 7#ac7 assess the ability of the ,iranian regime to cut off all access to the internet and develop a strategy to circumvent internet blackouts for ,iranian civil society2 2 and 7,d7 by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7b7 ,updates ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,treasury1 the ,secretary of ,commerce1 and the heads of other ,federal departments and agencies as appropriate shall review the strategy under subsection 7a7 on an ongoing basis and update the strategy as appropriate1 taking into account the results of such review4 4 7#b7 ,submission of first updates 7,a7 ,submission ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall-- 7i7 review and update the strategy pursuant to section #dad7;b7 of the ,iran ,threat ,reduction and ,syria ,human ,rights ,act of #bjab 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #hged71 as amended by paragraph 7#a72 and 7ii7 submit such updated strategy to the appropriate congressional committees4 7,b7 ,form ,the strategy under subparagraph 7,a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may include a classified annex4 #d4 ,satellite and ,direct,to,cell 7,,dtc7 coverage safeguards 7a7 ,non,exclusion condition for new licenses ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,federal ,communications ,commission 7,,fcc7 shall1 as a condition of any license1 license modification1 or marketaccess grant issued on or after the date of enactment of this ,act1 require that the licensee shall refrain from intentionally disabling1 degrading1 or geoblocking satellite or ,,dtc coverage over the land territory of ,iran1 except-- 7#a7 to the extent specifically required by ,federal law1 an order of the ,,fcc1 or an international coordination agreement designed solely to prevent harmful interference2 or 7#b7 for limited periods necessary to mitigate an imminent threat to the integrity or security of the licensee's network1 provided that normal coverage is restored as soon as practicable4 7b7 ,international advocacy ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,commerce and the ,,fcc1 shall oppose at the ,international ,telecommunication ,union 7,,itu7 or any successor body any proposal that would compel or encourage geographic exclusion of ,iran specifically from satellite or ,,dtc coverage provided by ,united ,states-licensed operators4 7c7 ,reporting requirement ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for #e years1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing-- 7#a7 actions taken pursuant to subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 any instances in which a satellite or ,,dtc operator intentionally excluded coverage of ,iran and the basis for such exclusion4 7d7 ,saving clause ,nothing in this section may be construed to-- 7#a7 authorize any transaction or service that is prohibited under ,united ,states sanctions laws or regulations1 including those administered by the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control of the ,department of the ,treasury2 or 7#b7 require a licensee to market1 sell1 activate1 or collect payment for services in ,iran4 #e4 ,cybersecurity capacity for civil society in ,iran 7a7 ,training and tools ,the ,secretary of ,state1 acting through the ,bureau of ,democracy1 ,human ,rights1 and ,labor1 shall1 not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 establish programs to-- 7#a7 deliver remote or inperson cybersecurity training to journalists1 humanrights defenders1 and civilsociety actors in ,iran2 7#b7 furnish vetted opensource or commercially available digitalsafety tools1 including ,,vpn services and endtoend encrypted messaging applications2 and 7#c7 provide multilingual educational materials that warn ,iranian users about regimecontrolled applications and phishing campaigns4 7b7 ,reporting and evaluation 7#a7 ,quarterly metrics ,the ,secretary of ,state shall track and1 on a quarterly basis1 make available to the appropriate congressional committees aggregate metrics on the number of trainees1 incidentresponse cases1 and unique users of supported digitalsafety tools4 7#b7 ,independent evaluation ,not later than #c years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs carried out under this section4 7c7 ,savings clause ,nothing in this section may be construed to supersede or limit existing authority under section #djd of the ,iran ,threat ,reduction and ,syria ,human ,rights ,act of #bjab 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #hged7 or any other provision of law related to internet freedom programming in ,iran4 #f4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary of ,state #ae1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbg and #bjbh to carry out sections #e and #f of this ,act1 including programs that expand access to secure ,,vpn services for individuals in ,iran4 7b7 ,availability ,amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall remain available until expended4 #g4 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to-- 7#a7 limit the authority of the ,president under the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja et seq472 7#b7 authorize any transaction prohibited under ,united ,states sanctions or exportcontrol laws2 or 7#c7 require any ,united ,states person to provide goods1 services1 or technology in violation of such laws4 #h4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 the ,permanent ,select ,committee on ,intelligence1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation1 the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate4 7#b7 e,s,i,m technology ,the term e,s,i,m technology means embedded subscriberidentitymodule technology that allows a user to remotely activate cellular service on a compatible device without a physical ,,sim card4 7#c7 ,,vpn services ,the term ,,vpn services means encrypted internet connections designed to bypass a government's censorship and surveillance1 enabling secure and unrestricted access to the open internet4