[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 860 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 860
To develop and deploy firewall circumvention tools for the people of
Hong Kong after the People's Republic of China violated its agreement
under the Joint Declaration, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 18, 2021
Mr. Lankford (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To develop and deploy firewall circumvention tools for the people of
Hong Kong after the People's Republic of China violated its agreement
under the Joint Declaration, and for other purposes.
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 ``Safeguarding Internet Freedom in
Hong Kong Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The People's Republic of China has repeatedly violated
its obligations under the Joint Declaration by suppressing the
basic rights and freedoms of Hongkongers.
(2) On June 30, 2020 the National People's Congress passed
a ``National Security Law'' that further erodes Hong Kong's
autonomy and enables authorities to suppress dissent.
(3) The Government of the People's Republic of China
continues to utilize the National Security Law to undermine the
fundamental rights of the Hong Kong people through suppression
of the freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and the press.
(4) Article 9 of the National Security Law authorizes
unprecedented regulation and supervision of internet activity
in Hong Kong, including expanded police powers to force
internet service providers to censor content, hand over user
information, and block access to platforms.
(5) On January 13, 2021, the Hong Kong Broadband Network
blocked public access to HKChronicles, a website promoting pro-
democracy viewpoints, under the authorities of the National
Security Law.
(6) On January 28, 2021, the Hong Kong Internet
Registration Corporation Limited enacted a revised ``acceptable
use'' policy that enables authorities to require the rejection
of website registration requests that may ``incite `illegal
acts'''.
(7) On February 4, 2021, Carrie Lam expressed support for
implementing additional laws to increase internet censorship.
(8) On February 12, 2021, internet service providers
blocked access to the Taiwan Transitional Justice Commission
website in Hong Kong.
(9) Major tech companies including Facebook, Twitter,
WhatsApp and Google have stopped reviewing requests for user
data from Hong Kong authorities.
(10) On February 28, 2021, 47 pro-democracy activists in
Hong Kong were arrested charged under the National Security Law
on the charge of ``conspiracy to commit subversion''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States should--
(1) support the ability of the people of Hong Kong to
maintain their freedom to access information online; and
(2) focus on investments in technologies that facilitate
the unhindered exchange of information in Hong Kong in advance
of any future efforts by the Chinese Communist Party--
(A) to suppress internet access;
(B) to increase online censorship; or
(C) to inhibit online communication and content-
sharing by the people of Hong Kong.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate;
(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(F) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
of the House of Representatives.
(2) Interagency working group.--The term ``interagency
working group'' means--
(A) the Under Secretary of State for Civilian
Security, Democracy, and Human Rights;
(B) the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian
and Pacific Affairs;
(C) the Chief Executive Officer of the Open
Technology Fund; and
(D) the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development.
(3) Joint declaration.--The term ``Joint Declaration''
means the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the
Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of
Hong Kong, done at Beijing on December 19, 1984.
SEC. 5. HONG KONG INTERNET FREEDOM PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State is authorized to establish
an interagency working group to develop a strategy to bolster internet
resiliency and online access in Hong Kong. The Secretary shall
establish a Hong Kong Internet Freedom Program in the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State.
Additionally, the Chief Executive Officer of the Open Technology Fund
is authorized to establish a Hong Kong Internet Freedom Program. These
programs shall operate independently, but in strategic coordination
with other entities in the interagency working group.
(b) Independence.--During the period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act and ending on September 30, 2023, the Program
shall be carried out independent from the mainland China internet
freedom portfolios in order to focus on supporting liberties presently
enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong.
(c) Consolidation of Department of State Program.--Beginning on
October 1, 2023, the Secretary of State may--
(1) consolidate the Program with the mainland China
initiatives in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor; or
(2) continue to carry out the Program in accordance with
subsection (b).
(d) Consolidation of Open Technology Fund Program.--Beginning on
October 1, 2023, the CEO of the Open Technology Fund may--
(1) consolidate the Program with the mainland China
initiatives in the Open Technology Fund; or
(2) continue to carry out the Program in accordance with
subsection (b).
SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR INFORMATION PROGRAMS.
(a) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, working through
the Open Technology Fund and the Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor, is authorized to award grants to private
organizations to support and develop programs in Hong Kong that
promote or expand--
(A) online information access;
(B) freedom of the press;
(C) disruptive technologies that bypass internet
blocking, filtering, and other censorship techniques;
(D) virtual private networks;
(E) firewall circumvention tools;
(F) distributed denial of service mitigation
techniques;
(G) digital security capacity building for internet
users; or
(H) digital resiliency for international
organizations, pro-democracy activists, and other civil
society actors in Hong Kong, including emergency
support.
(2) Goals.--The goals of the programs developed with grants
authorized under paragraph (1) should be--
(A) to make the technologies described in paragraph
(1) available in Hong Kong;
(B) to increase the number of the tools in the
circumvention technology portfolio;
(C) to promote the availability of such
technologies and tools in Hong Kong;
(D) to encourage the adoption of such technologies
and tools by the people of Hong Kong;
(E) to scale up the distribution of such
technologies and tools throughout Hong Kong;
(F) to prioritize the development of tools,
components, code, and technologies that are fully open
source, to the extent practicable;
(G) to conduct research on repressive tactics that
undermine internet freedom in Hong Kong; and
(H) to engage American private industry, including
e-commerce firms and social networking companies, on
the importance of preserving internet access in Hong
Kong.
(3) Grant recipients.--Grants authorized under this
subsection shall be distributed to multiple vendors and
suppliers through an open, fair, competitive, and evidence-
based decision process--
(A) to diversify the technical base; and
(B) to reduce the risk of mitigation by bad actors.
(4) Security audits.--New technologies developed using
grants from this subsection shall undergo comprehensive
security audits to ensure that such technologies are secure and
have not been compromised in a manner detrimental to the
interests of the United States or to individuals or
organizations benefitting from programs supported by the Open
Technology Fund.
(b) Funding Source.--The Secretary of State is authorized to expend
funds from the Human Rights and Democracy Fund of the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the Department of State during
fiscal year 2020 for grants authorized under subsection (a) at any
entity in the interagency working group.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) Open technology fund.--In addition to the funds
authorized to be expended pursuant to subsection (b), there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Open Technology Fund
$5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to
carry out this section.
(2) Bureau of democracy, human rights, and labor.--In
addition to the funds authorized to be expended pursuant to
subsection (b), there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Office of Internet Freedom Programs in the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor of the Department of State $10,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out
this section.
(3) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to
paragraphs (1) and (2) shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 7. STRATEGIC PLANNING REPORT.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of State and the interagency working group shall
submit a classified report to the appropriate congressional committees
that--
(1) describes the Federal Government's plan to bolster and
increase the availability of firewall circumvention technology
in Hong Kong during fiscal year 2021, including--
(A) secure private messaging tools;
(B) secure file storage and sharing platforms;
(C) virtual private networks;
(D) satellite internet;
(E) proxies;
(F) refraction routing;
(G) pluggable transports; and
(H) other secure communication mechanisms and anti-
censorship technologies;
(2) outlines a plan for--
(A) supporting the preservation of an open,
interoperable, reliable, and secure internet in Hong
Kong;
(B) increasing the supply of the technology
referred to in paragraph (1);
(C) accelerating the dissemination of such
technology;
(D) promoting the availability of such technology
in Hong Kong;
(E) utilizing presently available tools in the
mainland China portfolio for further use in the unique
context of Hong Kong;
(F) expanding the portfolio of tools in order to
diversify and strengthen the effectiveness and
resiliency of the circumvention efforts; and
(G) providing training for high-risk groups and
individuals in Hong Kong;
(3) includes a detailed description of the technical and
fiscal steps necessary to implement the plans referred to in
paragraphs (1) and (2), including an analysis of the market
conditions in Hong Kong;
(4) describes the Federal Government's plans for awarding
grants to private organizations for the purposes described in
section 6(a)(1);
(5) outlines the interagency working group's consultations
regarding the implementation of this Act to ensure that all
Federal efforts are aligned and well coordinated; and
(6) outlines the Department of State's strategy to
influence global internet legal standards at international
organizations and multilateral fora.
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