Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · BILL · 113th Congress · H.R. 491 (Introduced in House) — To prevent United States businesses from cooperating with repressive governments in transforming the Internet into a... · Sec. 3

Sec. 3. Definitions

445 words·~2 min read·/bill/113/hr/491/ih/section-3

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

In this Act: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Finance of the Senate. The term foreign official means— any officer or employee of a foreign government or of any department; and any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of, or acting under color of law with the knowledge of, any such government or such department, agency, state-owned enterprise, or instrumentality.
The term Internet has the meaning given the term in section 231(e)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3) ). The term Internet-restricting country means a country designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 104(a) of this Act. The term legitimate foreign law enforcement purpose means for the purpose of enforcement, investigation, or prosecution by a foreign official based on a publicly promulgated law of reasonable specificity that proximately relates to the protection or promotion of the health, safety, or morals of the citizens of the jurisdiction of such official.
For purposes of this Act, the control, suppression, or punishment of peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief shall not be construed to constitute a legitimate foreign law enforcement purpose. Among expression that should be construed to be protected against control, suppression, or punishment when evaluating a foreign government’s claim of a legitimate foreign law enforcement purpose is expression protected by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
No provision under this Act shall be construed to affect a country’s ability to adopt measures designed to combat infringement of intellectual property. The term substantial restrictions on Internet freedom means actions that restrict or punish the free availability of information via the Internet for reasons other than legitimate foreign law enforcement purposes, including— deliberately blocking, filtering, or censoring information available via the Internet based on the expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, including by electronic mail; or persecuting, prosecuting, or otherwise punishing an individual or group for posting or transmitting peaceful political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief via the Internet, including by electronic mail.
The term United States business means— any corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, business trust, unincorporated organization, or sole proprietorship that— has its principal place of business in the United States; or is organized under the laws of a State of the United States or a territory, possession, or commonwealth of the United States; and any issuer of a security registered pursuant to section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78l ).
Connectionstraces to 2
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.