II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5344 

To provide for international protection of digital freedom, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for international protection of digital freedom, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Digital 

5 Freedom Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States— 

8 (1) to ensure that technology is developed, de9 ployed, and governed in accordance with universal 


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1 human rights, the rule of law, and democratic val2 ues; 

3 (2) to protect and promote digital freedom as a 

4 cornerstone of United States foreign policy and 

5 prioritize digital freedom to the highest extent pos6 sible in diplomatic engagements with foreign coun7 tries; 

8 (3) to cooperate and engage with like-minded 

9 countries committed to developing, deploying, and 

10 using technology in a manner that respects democ11 racy, the rule of law, and human rights; and 

12 (4) to lead global efforts to protect digital free13 dom, counter disinformation and misinformation, 

14 and advance democratic governance in the digital 

15 space consistent with guidelines outlined in the 

16 United States International Cyberspace and Digital 

17 Policy Strategy. 

18 SEC. 3. COORDINATOR FOR DIGITAL FREEDOM DEFINED. 

19 In this Act, the term ‘‘Coordinator for Digital Free20 dom’’ means the Coordinator for Digital Freedom in the 

21 Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy in the United 

22 States Department of State. 


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1 SEC. 4. ROLE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR DIGITAL FREE2 DOM. 

3 (a) CENTRAL OBJECTIVE.—The central objective of 

4 the Coordinator for Digital Freedom shall be to promote 

5 efforts that— 

6 (1) improve the state of digital freedom glob7 ally; 

8 (2) ensure digital freedom remains a foremost 

9 foreign policy priority of the United States Govern10 ment; and 

11 (3) coordinate responses to concerning trends 

12 impacting digital freedom. 

13 (b) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Coordi14 nator shall— 

15 (1) engage foreign governments, nongovern16 mental organizations, and other actors to coordinate 

17 efforts to defend digital freedom against digital 

18 authoritarianism and other authoritarian approaches 

19 to governance and usage of technology; 

20 (2) support multilateral efforts to protect and 

21 reinforce information integrity within the context of 

22 respect for freedom of expression; 

23 (3) advance the development and maintenance 

24 of technology that is designed, governed, and de25 ployed in manners consistent with democracy, the 

26 rule of law, and human rights; 


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1 (4) promote digital inclusion across the digital 

2 space; 

3 (5) engage and advance discussions to promote 

4 the democratic governance of artificial intelligence 

5 and the implications of artificial intelligence govern6 ance on human rights and democracy; 

7 (6) lead efforts within the Department of State 

8 to continue publishing guidelines for protecting dig9 ital freedom across the cyberspace, including 

10 through the Risk Management Profile for Artificial 

11 Intelligence and Human Rights, as well as the Road12 map for Building Civil Resilience to the Global Dig13 ital Information Manipulation Challenge; and 

14 (7) make recommendations regarding opportu15 nities to advance digital freedom internally within 

16 the Department of State, as well as through diplo17 matic engagements with foreign countries. 

18 (c) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—In addition to the duties 

19 and responsibilities specified in subsections (a) and (b), 

20 the Coordinator may carry out other duties that the Sec21 retary of State may assign. 

22 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE OF DIGITAL FREEDOM 

23 IN THE WORLD. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 


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1 the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy shall submit 

2 to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 

3 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep4 resentatives a report on the state of global digital freedom. 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub6 section (a) shall include— 

7 (1) an analysis of concerning trends impacting 

8 digital freedom globally, including— 

9 (A) digital authoritarianism and threats to 

10 democracy; 

11 (B) censorship and propaganda; 

12 (C) threats to information integrity; 

13 (D) threats to digital inclusion; 

14 (E) threats to privacy in the digital space; 

15 and 

16 (F) risks to responsible management of ar17 tificial intelligence and democratic governance 

18 of artificial intelligence; 

19 (2) a discussion of particular regions or coun20 tries of concern that are experiencing the greatest 

21 threats to digital freedom; and 

22 (3) recommendations for how to protect and 

23 promote digital freedom in response to these con24 cerning trends. 

Æ 


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