Sec. 106. Investing in projects that strengthen the region’s digital infrastructure
390 words·~2 min read·
/bill/116/hr/8716/ih/section-106A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: According to a 2016 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Working Paper No. 334: Harnessing the Digital Economy for Developing Countries — the digital economy fosters growth and productivity and supports inclusive development by improving accessibility for previously marginalized groups; access to digital infrastructure can provide these groups with a whole range of markets and services, including education, peer-to-peer lending, e-government, the sharing economy, crowdfunding, and online job matching services; and adoption and usage of digital technologies raises the productivity of capital and labor, enables the participation in global value chains, and contributes to greater inclusion by lowering transaction costs and expanding access to information.
According to the Inter-American Development Bank, the combination of high rates of financial exclusion and high mobile penetration and technological innovation represents a great opportunity to use technology to enable financial services to reach a part of the population in Latin America that has been underserved by traditional financial services. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a strategy and implementation plan for leveraging United States expertise to help Latin American and Caribbean governments— develop and secure their digital infrastructure; protect technological assets, including data privacy; advance cybersecurity to protect against cybercrime and cyberespionage; and create more equal access to economic opportunities for their citizens.
The strategy described in subsection
(b)shall address— the severe digital divides between more wealthy urban centers and rural districts; the need for protection of citizens’ privacy; and the need to expand existing initiatives to allow public-private partnerships to increase access to micro-grids and decentralized electronic systems. In creating the strategy described in subsection (b), the Secretary of State shall consult with— leaders of the United States telecommunication industry; other technology experts from nongovernmental organizations and academia; and representatives from relevant United States Government agencies. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter until the date that is 5 years after such date of enactment, the Secretary of State shall brief the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives regarding the implementation of the strategy described in subsection (b).