To develop and deploy technologies to defeat Internet jamming and censorship.

January 7, 2003

Mr. COX (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. WELLER, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

To develop and deploy technologies to defeat Internet jamming and censorship.

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 `Global Internet Freedom Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association are fundamental characteristics of a free society. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that `Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.' These constitutional provisions guarantee the rights of Americans to communicate and associate with one another without restriction, including unfettered communication and association via the Internet. Article 19 of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly guarantees the freedom to `receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers'.

(2) All people have the right to communicate freely with others, and to have unrestricted access to news and information, on the Internet.

(3) With nearly 10 percent of the world's population now online, and more gaining access each day, the Internet stands to become the most powerful engine for democratization and the free exchange of ideas ever invented.

(4) Unrestricted access to news and information on the Internet is a check on repressive rule by authoritarian regimes around the world.

(5) The governments of Burma, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Vietnam, among others, are taking active measures to keep their citizens from freely accessing the Internet and obtaining international political, religious, and economic news and information.

(6) Intergovernmental, nongovernmental, and media organizations have reported the widespread and increasing pattern by authoritarian governments to block, jam, and monitor Internet access and content, using technologies such as firewalls, filters, and `black boxes'. Such jamming and monitoring of individual activity on the Internet includes surveillance of e-mail messages, message boards, and the use of particular words; `stealth blocking' individuals from visiting websites; the development of `black lists' of users that seek to visit these websites; and the denial of access to the Internet.

(7) The Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, as well as hundreds of news sources with an internet presence, are routinely being jammed by repressive governments.

(8) Since the 1940s, the United States has deployed anti-jamming technologies to make Voice of America and other United States Government sponsored broadcasting available to people in nations with governments that seek to block news and information.

(9) The United States Government has thus far commenced only modest steps to fund and deploy technologies to defeat Internet censorship. To date, the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have committed a total of $1,000,000 for technology to counter Internet jamming by the People's Republic of China. This technology, which has been successful in attracting 100,000 electronic hits per day from the People's Republic of China, has been relied upon by Voice of America and Radio Free Asia to ensure access to their programming by citizens of the People's Republic of China, but United States Government financial support for the technology has lapsed. In most other countries there is no meaningful United States support for Internet freedom.

(10) The success of United States policy in support of freedom of speech, press, and association requires new initiatives to defeat totalitarian and authoritarian controls on news and information over the Internet.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to adopt an effective and robust global Internet freedom policy;

(2) to establish an office within the International Broadcasting Bureau with the sole mission of countering Internet jamming and blocking by repressive regimes;

(3) to expedite the development and deployment of technology to protect Internet freedom around the world;

(4) to authorize the commitment of a substantial portion of United States international broadcasting resources to the continued development and implementation of technologies to counter the jamming of the Internet;

(5) to utilize the expertise of the private sector in the development and implementation of such technologies, so that the many current technologies used commercially for securing business transactions and providing virtual meeting space can be used to promote democracy and freedom; and

(6) to bring to bear the pressure of the free world on repressive governments guilty of Internet censorship and the intimidation and persecution of their citizens who use the Internet.

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES TO DEFEAT INTERNET JAMMING AND CENSORSHIP.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM- There is established in the International Broadcasting Bureau the Office of Global Internet Freedom (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Office'). The Office shall be headed by a Director who shall develop and implement a comprehensive global strategy to combat state-sponsored and state-directed Internet jamming, and persecution of those who use the Internet.

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

(c) COOPERATION OF OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES- Each department and agency of the United States Government shall cooperate fully with, and assist in the implementation of, the strategy developed by the Office and shall make such resources and information available to the Office as is necessary to the achievement of the purposes of this Act.

(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS- On March 1 following the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Director of the Office shall submit to the Congress a report on the status of state interference with Internet use and of efforts by the United States to counter such interference. Each report shall list the countries that pursue policies of Internet censorship, blocking, and other abuses; provide information concerning the government agencies or quasi-governmental organizations that implement Internet censorship; and describe with the greatest particularity practicable the technological means by which such blocking and other abuses are accomplished. In the discretion of the Director, such report may be submitted in both a classified and nonclassified version.

(e) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY- Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to authorize any action by the United States to interfere with foreign national censorship in furtherance of legitimate law enforcement aims that is consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of the Congress that the United States should--

(1) publicly, prominently, and consistently denounce governments that restrict, censor, ban, and block access to information on the Internet;

(2) direct the United States Representative to the United Nations to submit a resolution at the next annual meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission condemning all governments that practice Internet censorship and deny freedom to access and share information; and

(3) deploy, at the earliest practicable date, technologies aimed at defeating state-directed Internet censorship and the persecution of those who use the Internet.

END