[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4301 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4301
To support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people by
enhancing their ability to access the Internet and communications
services.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 14, 2009
Mr. Moran of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Inglis, and Mr. Delahunt)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people by
enhancing their ability to access the Internet and communications
services.
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 ``Iranian Digital Empowerment Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Government of Iran is engaged in a range of
activities that interfere with and infringe upon the right of
the Iranian people to access independent news and information
and to exercise basic freedoms, in particular through
electronic media.
(2) On September 28, 2009, a consortium reportedly
controlled by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps purchased a
controlling interest in the Iranian Telecommunications Company.
(3) On November 14, 2009, the Government of Iran announced
the establishment of a special security force to police
opposition activities on the Internet.
(4) On numerous occasions, including most recently ahead of
student demonstrations on December 7, 2009, the Government of
Iran has restricted access to Internet and telecommunications
networks in order to limit popular dissent.
(5) In the aftermath of the disputed June 2009 Iranian
presidential elections, the Iranian people utilized Twitter,
Facebook, and other personal communication technologies to
organize demonstrations and related activities.
(6) Citing the crucial role that Internet communications
technologies were playing in post-election Iran, the Department
of State requested Twitter delay a planned maintenance so that
Iranians could continue use of the service without
interruption.
(7) The United States has a vital interest in working to
ensure that its policies do not unintentionally aid the
repressive policies of the Government of Iran or hinder the
Iranian people's basic rights and freedoms.
(8) Current sanctions on Iran have had the unintended
effect of stifling Iranians' access to the Internet and related
Internet technologies.
(9) Microsoft and Google have ceased providing instant
messaging services to Iranians, citing United States economic
sanctions.
(10) In a September 2009 response regarding the suspension
of messaging services within Iran by Microsoft and Google,
Director of the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC), Adam Szubin, stated that, ``Ensuring the
flow and access to information available through the Internet
and similar public sources is consistent with the policy
interests of the United States Government.''.
(b) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
United States--
(1) respects the sovereignty of the Iranian people and the
universal values of freedom of speech, freedom of the press,
and the freedom to assemble;
(2) supports the Iranian people seeking access to news,
electronic communication, and other forms of information;
(3) encourages the development and provision of
technologies and services to the Iranian people that enable
them to communicate with each other and the outside world; and
(4) encourages companies, organizations, and individuals to
enable large numbers of users to bypass censorship and
surveillance technologies, for the purposes of promoting
Iranians' unfettered access to the Internet, which is a civil
liberty that should be enjoyed by all people.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPORTS OF CERTAIN SOFTWARE AND RELATED
SERVICES TO IRAN.
(a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
export of software and related services described in subsection (b) to
Iran by United States persons may not be prohibited or otherwise
restricted.
(b) Software and Related Services Described.--The software and
related services referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Software and related services that allow private
Iranian citizens to circumvent online censorship and monitoring
efforts imposed by the Government of Iran.
(2) Software and related services that enable personal
communication by the Iranian people.
(c) Exception.--
(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply with
respect to the export of software and related services
described in subsection (b) to the Government of Iran.
(2) Definition.--
(A) In general.--In this subsection, the term
``Government of Iran'' includes the government of any
political subdivision of Iran, and any agency or
instrumentality of the Government of Iran.
(B) Agency or instrumentality.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the term ``agency or instrumentality
of the Government of Iran'' means an agency of
instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in
section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code, with
each reference in such section to ``a foreign state''
deemed to be a reference to ``Iran''.
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to the
export of software and related services referred to in subsection (a)
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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