Sec. 1226. Report on assisting Iranian dissidents and people access telecommunications tools
380 words·~2 min read·
/bill/117/hr/7900/pcs/section-1226·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to 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 Banking of the Senate a report that includes the matters described in subsection (b). The matters described in this subsection are the following:
An assessment of the Iranian Government’s ability to impose internet shutdowns, censor the internet, and track Iranian dissidents, labor organizers, political activists, or human rights defenders inside Iran through targeted digital surveillance or other digital means. A list of technologies, including hardware, software, and services incident to personal communications, including set-top boxes (STB), satellites, and web developer tools, that would encourage the free flow of information to better enable the Iranian people to communicate with each other and the outside world.
An assessment on whether existing United States policy impedes the ability of Iranians to circumvent the Iranian Government’s attempt to securitize access to the internet and block access to the internet at times of civil unrest. A review of the legal exemptions that authorize access to information technology and how such exemptions or any accompanying general licenses may be altered to mitigate any hindrances imposed on Iranian dissidents and activists inside Iran. An assessment of whether further exemptions or alterations to existing exemptions and general licenses are necessary to support Iranian citizens’ access to the internet and to assist their efforts to circumvent internet shutdowns and targeted digital surveillance from the Iranian Government.
The report required pursuant to subsection
(a)shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex if such annex is provided separately from such unclassified version. In this section, the term targeted digital surveillance means the use of items or services that enable an individual or entity (with or without the knowing authorization of the product’s owner) to detect, monitor, intercept, collect, exploit, preserve, protect, transmit, retain, or otherwise gain access to the communications, sensitive or protected information, work product, browsing data, research, identifying information, location history, and online and offline activities of other individuals, organizations, or entities.