I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7307 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require information on 

the status of excessive surveillance and use of advanced technology to 

violate privacy and other fundamental human rights be included in the 

annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2020 

Mr. CURTIS (for himself, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. PHILLIPS, and Mr. YOHO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require 

information on the status of excessive surveillance and 

use of advanced technology to violate privacy and other 

fundamental human rights be included in the annual 

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 

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 ‘‘Foreign Advanced 

5 Technology Surveillance Accountability Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON 

2 HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES. 

3 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended as 

4 follows: 

5 (1) In section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by add6 ing at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h) STATUS OF EXCESSIVE SURVEILLANCE AND

8 USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by 

10 subsection (d) shall include, wherever applicable, a 

11 description of the status of surveillance and use of 

12 advanced technology to impose arbitrary or unlawful 

13 interference with privacy, or unlawful or unnecessary 

14 restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful as15 sembly, association, or other internationally recog16 nized human rights in each country, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) whether the government of such 

18 country has adopted and is enforcing laws, reg19 ulations, policies, or practices relating to— 

20 ‘‘(i) government surveillance or cen21 sorship, including through facial recogni22 tion, biometric data collection, internet and 

23 social media controls, sensors, spyware 

24 data analytics, non-cooperative location 

25 tracking, recording devices, or other simi26 lar advanced technologies, and any allegaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Jul 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7307.IH H7307

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1 tions or reports that this surveillance or 

2 censorship was unreasonable; 

3 ‘‘(ii) extrajudicial searches or seizures 

4 of individual or private institution data; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) surveillance of any group based 

7 on political views, religious beliefs, eth8 nicity, or other protected category, in viola9 tion of equal protection rights; 

10 ‘‘(B) whether such country has imported 

11 or unlawfully obtained biometric or facial rec12 ognition data from other countries or entities 

13 and, if applicable, from whom; and 

14 ‘‘(C) whether the government agency end15 user has targeted individuals, including through 

16 the use of technology, in retaliation for the ex17 ercise of their human rights or on discrimina18 tory grounds prohibited by international law, 

19 including targeting journalists or members of 

20 minority groups. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

22 ‘‘(A) the term ‘internet and social media 

23 controls’ means the arbitrary or unlawful impo24 sition of restrictions, by state or service pro25 viders, on internet and digital information and 


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1 communication, such as through the blocking or 

2 filtering of websites, social media platforms, 

3 and communication applications, the deletion of 

4 content and social media posts, or the penaliza5 tion of online speech, in a manner that violates 

6 rights to free expression or assembly; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the term ‘extrajudicial targeted sur8 veillance’ means the use of technology to ob9 serve the activities of individuals in a manner 

10 that unlawfully or arbitrarily interferes with 

11 their privacy, such as through physical moni12 toring or the interception of digital communica13 tions.’’. 

14 (2) In section 502B(b) (22 U.S.C. 2304(b))— 

15 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 

16 (i) (as added by section 1207(b)(2) of Public 

17 Law 113–4) as subsection (j); and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(k) STATUS OF EXCESSIVE SURVEILLANCE AND

20 USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY.—The report required 

21 under subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, a 

22 description of the status of excessive surveillance and use 

23 of advanced technology to restrict human rights, including 


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1 the descriptions of such policies or practices required 

2 under section 116(h).’’. 

Æ 


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