I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 739 

To support United States international cyber diplomacy, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Mr. MCCAUL (for himself and Mr. ENGEL) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To support United States international cyber diplomacy, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. United States International Cyberspace Policy. 

Sec. 5. Department of State responsibilities. 

Sec. 6. International cyberspace executive arrangements. 

Sec. 7. International strategy for cyberspace. 


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Sec. 8. Annual country reports on human rights practices. 

Sec. 9. GAO report on cyber threats and data misuse. 

Sec. 10. Sense of Congress on cybersecurity sanctions against North Korea and 

cybersecurity legislation in Vietnam. 

Sec. 11. Rule of construction. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The stated goal of the United States Inter4 national Strategy for Cyberspace, launched on May 

5 16, 2011, is to ‘‘work internationally to promote an 

6 open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information 

7 and communications infrastructure that supports 

8 international trade and commerce, strengthens inter9 national security, and fosters free expression and in10 novation . . . in which norms of responsible behav11 ior guide states’ actions, sustain partnerships, and 

12 support the rule of law in cyberspace’’. 

13 (2) In its June 24, 2013 report, the Group of 

14 Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field 

15 of Information and Telecommunications in the Con16 text of International Security (referred to in this 

17 section as ‘‘GGE’’), established by the United Na18 tions General Assembly, concluded that ‘‘State sov19 ereignty and the international norms and principles 

20 that flow from it apply to States’ conduct of [infor21 mation and communications technology] ICT-related 

22 activities and to their jurisdiction over ICT infra23 structure with their territory’’. 


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1 (3) In January 2015, China, Kazakhstan, 

2 Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan pro3 posed a troubling international code of conduct for 

4 information security, which could be used as a pre5 text for restricting political dissent, and includes 

6 ‘‘curbing the dissemination of information that in7 cites terrorism, separatism or extremism or that in8 flames hatred on ethnic, racial or religious grounds’’. 

9 (4) In its July 22, 2015 consensus report, GGE 

10 found that ‘‘norms of responsible State behavior can 

11 reduce risks to international peace, security and sta12 bility’’. 

13 (5) On September 25, 2015, the United States 

14 and China announced a commitment that neither 

15 country’s government ‘‘will conduct or knowingly 

16 support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, 

17 including trade secrets or other confidential business 

18 information, with the intent of providing competitive 

19 advantages to companies or commercial sectors’’. 

20 (6) At the Antalya Summit on November 15 

21 and 16, 2015, the Group of 20 Leaders’ 

22 communique ́— 

23 (A) affirmed the applicability of inter24 national law to state behavior in cyberspace; 


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1 (B) called on states to refrain from cyber2 enabled theft of intellectual property for com3 mercial gain; and 

4 (C) endorsed the view that all states 

5 should abide by norms of responsible behavior. 

6 (7) The March 2016 Department of State 

7 International Cyberspace Policy Strategy noted that 

8 ‘‘the Department of State anticipates a continued in9 crease and expansion of our cyber-focused diplomatic 

10 efforts for the foreseeable future’’. 

11 (8) On December 1, 2016, the Commission on 

12 Enhancing National Cybersecurity, which was estab13 lished within the Department of Commerce by Exec14 utive Order 13718 (81 Fed. Reg. 7441), rec15 ommended that ‘‘the President should appoint an 

16 Ambassador for Cybersecurity to lead U.S. engage17 ment with the international community on cyberse18 curity strategies, standards, and practices’’. 

19 (9) On April 11, 2017, the 2017 Group of 7 

20 Declaration on Responsible States Behavior in 

21 Cyberspace— 

22 (A) recognized ‘‘the urgent necessity of in23 creased international cooperation to promote se24 curity and stability in cyberspace’’; 


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1 (B) expressed commitment to ‘‘promoting 

2 a strategic framework for conflict prevention, 

3 cooperation and stability in cyberspace, con4 sisting of the recognition of the applicability of 

5 existing international law to State behavior in 

6 cyberspace, the promotion of voluntary, non7 binding norms of responsible State behavior 

8 during peacetime, and the development and the 

9 implementation of practical cyber confidence 

10 building measures (CBMs) between States’’; 

11 and 

12 (C) reaffirmed that ‘‘the same rights that 

13 people have offline must also be protected on14 line’’. 

15 (10) In testimony before the Select Committee 

16 on Intelligence of the Senate on May 11, 2017, Di17 rector of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats iden18 tified 6 cyber threat actors, including— 

19 (A) Russia, for ‘‘efforts to influence the 

20 2016 US election’’; 

21 (B) China, for ‘‘actively targeting the US 

22 Government, its allies, and US companies for 

23 cyber espionage’’; 

24 (C) Iran, for ‘‘leverag[ing] cyber espionage, 

25 propaganda, and attacks to support its security 


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1 priorities, influence events and foreign percep2 tions, and counter threats’’; 

3 (D) North Korea, for ‘‘previously 

4 conduct[ing] cyber-attacks against US commer5 cial entities—specifically, Sony Pictures Enter6 tainment in 2014’’; 

7 (E) terrorists, who ‘‘use the Internet to or8 ganize, recruit, spread propaganda, raise funds, 

9 collect intelligence, inspire action by followers, 

10 and coordinate operations’’; and 

11 (F) criminals, who ‘‘are also developing 

12 and using sophisticated cyber tools for a variety 

13 of purposes including theft, extortion, and fa14 cilitation of other criminal activities’’. 

15 (11) On May 11, 2017, President Donald J. 

16 Trump issued Executive Order 13800 (82 Fed. Reg. 

17 22391), entitled ‘‘Strengthening the Cybersecurity of 

18 Federal Networks and Infrastructure’’, which— 

19 (A) designates the Secretary of State to 

20 lead an interagency effort to develop an engage21 ment strategy for international cooperation in 

22 cybersecurity; and 

23 (B) notes that ‘‘the United States is espe24 cially dependent on a globally secure and resil25 ient internet and must work with allies and 


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1 other partners toward maintaining . . . the pol2 icy of the executive branch to promote an open, 

3 interoperable, reliable, and secure internet that 

4 fosters efficiency, innovation, communication, 

5 and economic prosperity, while respecting pri6 vacy and guarding against disruption, fraud, 

7 and theft’’. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

13 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

14 of the House of Representatives. 

15 (2) INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

16 TECHNOLOGY; ICT.—The terms ‘‘information and 

17 communications technology’’ and ‘‘ICT’’ include 

18 hardware, software, and other products or services 

19 primarily intended to fulfill or enable the function of 

20 information processing and communication by elec21 tronic means, including transmission and display, in22 cluding via the Internet. 

23 (3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 

24 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

25 105 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL CYBERSPACE 

2 POLICY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 

4 States to work internationally to promote an open, inter5 operable, reliable, unfettered, and secure Internet gov6 erned by the multi-stakeholder model, which— 

7 (1) promotes human rights, democracy, and 

8 rule of law, including freedom of expression, innova9 tion, communication, and economic prosperity; and 

10 (2) respects privacy and guards against decep11 tion, fraud, and theft. 

12 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the policy 

13 described in subsection (a), the President, in consultation 

14 with outside actors, including private sector companies, 

15 nongovernmental organizations, security researchers, and 

16 other relevant stakeholders, in the conduct of bilateral and 

17 multilateral relations, shall pursue the following objectives: 

18 (1) Clarifying the applicability of international 

19 laws and norms to the use of ICT. 

20 (2) Reducing and limiting the risk of escalation 

21 and retaliation in cyberspace, damage to critical in22 frastructure, and other malicious cyber activity that 

23 impairs the use and operation of critical infrastruc24 ture that provides services to the public. 

25 (3) Cooperating with like-minded democratic 

26 countries that share common values and cyberspace 


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1 policies with the United States, including respect for 

2 human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, to ad3 vance such values and policies internationally. 

4 (4) Encouraging the responsible development of 

5 new, innovative technologies and ICT products that 

6 strengthen a secure Internet architecture that is ac7 cessible to all. 

8 (5) Securing and implementing commitments 

9 on responsible country behavior in cyberspace based 

10 upon accepted norms, including the following: 

11 (A) Countries should not conduct, or 

12 knowingly support, cyber-enabled theft of intel13 lectual property, including trade secrets or 

14 other confidential business information, with 

15 the intent of providing competitive advantages 

16 to companies or commercial sectors. 

17 (B) Countries should take all appropriate 

18 and reasonable efforts to keep their territories 

19 clear of intentionally wrongful acts using ICTs 

20 in violation of international commitments. 

21 (C) Countries should not conduct or know22 ingly support ICT activity that, contrary to 

23 international law, intentionally damages or oth24 erwise impairs the use and operation of critical 

25 infrastructure providing services to the public, 


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1 and should take appropriate measures to pro2 tect their critical infrastructure from ICT 

3 threats. 

4 (D) Countries should not conduct or know5 ingly support malicious international activity 

6 that, contrary to international law, harms the 

7 information systems of authorized emergency 

8 response teams (also known as ‘‘computer 

9 emergency response teams’’ or ‘‘cybersecurity 

10 incident response teams’’) of another country or 

11 authorize emergency response teams to engage 

12 in malicious international activity. 

13 (E) Countries should respond to appro14 priate requests for assistance to mitigate mali15 cious ICT activity emanating from their terri16 tory and aimed at the critical infrastructure of 

17 another country. 

18 (F) Countries should not restrict cross-bor19 der data flows or require local storage or proc20 essing of data. 

21 (G) Countries should protect the exercise 

22 of human rights and fundamental freedoms on 

23 the Internet and commit to the principle that 

24 the human rights that people have offline 

25 should also be protected online. 


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1 (6) Advancing, encouraging, and supporting the 

2 development and adoption of internationally recog3 nized technical standards and best practices. 

4 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF STATE RESPONSIBILITIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1 of the State Depart6 ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub9 section (h); and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(g) OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL CYBERSPACE POL13 ICY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established, within 

15 the Department of State, an Office of International 

16 Cyberspace Policy (referred to in this subsection as 

17 the ‘Office’). The head of the Office shall have the 

18 rank and status of ambassador and shall be ap19 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

20 consent of the Senate. 

21 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Of23 fice shall perform such duties and exercise such 

24 powers as the Secretary of State shall prescribe, 

25 including implementing the policy of the United 


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1 States described in section 4 of the Cyber Di2 plomacy Act of 2019. 

3 ‘‘(B) DUTIES DESCRIBED.—The principal 

4 duties and responsibilities of the head of the 

5 Office shall be— 

6 ‘‘(i) to serve as the principal cyber7 space policy official within the senior man8 agement of the Department of State and 

9 as the advisor to the Secretary of State for 

10 cyberspace issues; 

11 ‘‘(ii) to lead the Department of 

12 State’s diplomatic cyberspace efforts, in13 cluding efforts relating to international cy14 bersecurity, Internet access, Internet free15 dom, digital economy, cybercrime, deter16 rence and international responses to cyber 

17 threats, and other issues that the Sec18 retary assigns to the Office; 

19 ‘‘(iii) to promote an open, interoper20 able, reliable, unfettered, and secure infor21 mation and communications technology in22 frastructure globally; 

23 ‘‘(iv) to represent the Secretary of 

24 State in interagency efforts to develop and 


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1 advance the policy described in section 4 of 

2 the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2019; 

3 ‘‘(v) to coordinate cyberspace efforts 

4 and other relevant functions, including 

5 countering terrorists’ use of cyberspace, 

6 within the Department of State and with 

7 other components of the United States 

8 Government; 

9 ‘‘(vi) to act as a liaison to public and 

10 private sector entities on relevant inter11 national cyberspace issues; 

12 ‘‘(vii) to lead United States Govern13 ment efforts to establish a global deter14 rence framework for malicious cyber activ15 ity; 

16 ‘‘(viii) to develop and execute adver17 sary-specific strategies to influence adver18 sary decisionmaking through the imposi19 tion of costs and deterrence strategies, in 

20 coordination with other relevant Executive 

21 agencies; 

22 ‘‘(ix) to advise the Secretary and co23 ordinate with foreign governments on ex24 ternal responses to national-security-level 

25 cyber incidents, including coordination on 


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1 diplomatic response efforts to support al2 lies threatened by malicious cyber activity, 

3 in conjunction with members of the North 

4 Atlantic Treaty Organization and other 

5 like-minded countries; 

6 ‘‘(x) to promote the adoption of na7 tional processes and programs that enable 

8 threat detection, prevention, and response 

9 to malicious cyber activity emanating from 

10 the territory of a foreign country, including 

11 as such activity relates to the United 

12 States’ European allies, as appropriate; 

13 ‘‘(xi) to promote the building of for14 eign capacity to protect the global network 

15 with the goal of enabling like-minded par16 ticipation in deterrence frameworks; 

17 ‘‘(xii) to promote the maintenance of 

18 an open and interoperable Internet gov19 erned by the multi-stakeholder model, in20 stead of by centralized government control; 

21 ‘‘(xiii) to promote an international 

22 regulatory environment for technology in23 vestments and the Internet that benefits 

24 United States economic and national secu25 rity interests; 


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1 ‘‘(xiv) to promote cross-border flow of 

2 data and combat international initiatives 

3 seeking to impose unreasonable require4 ments on United States businesses; 

5 ‘‘(xv) to promote international policies 

6 to protect the integrity of United States 

7 and international telecommunications in8 frastructure from foreign-based, cyber-en9 abled threats; 

10 ‘‘(xvi) to lead engagement, in coordi11 nation with Executive agencies, with for12 eign governments on cyberspace and digital 

13 economy issues as described in the Cyber 

14 Diplomacy Act of 2019; 

15 ‘‘(xvii) to promote international poli16 cies to secure radio frequency spectrum for 

17 United States businesses and national se18 curity needs; 

19 ‘‘(xviii) to promote and protect the ex20 ercise of human rights, including freedom 

21 of speech and religion, through the Inter22 net; 

23 ‘‘(xix) to build capacity of United 

24 States diplomatic officials to engage on 

25 cyber issues; 


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1 ‘‘(xx) to encourage the development 

2 and adoption by foreign countries of inter3 nationally recognized standards, policies, 

4 and best practices; and 

5 ‘‘(xxi) to consult, as appropriate, with 

6 other Executive agencies with related func7 tions vested in such Executive agencies by 

8 law. 

9 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The head of the Office 

10 should be an individual of demonstrated competency 

11 in the fields of— 

12 ‘‘(A) cybersecurity and other relevant cyber 

13 issues; and 

14 ‘‘(B) international diplomacy. 

15 ‘‘(4) ORGANIZATIONAL PLACEMENT.—During 

16 the 4-year period beginning on the date of the enact17 ment of the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2019, the head 

18 of the Office shall report to the Under Secretary for 

19 Political Affairs or to an official holding a higher po20 sition than the Under Secretary for Political Affairs 

21 in the Department of State. After the conclusion of 

22 such period, the head of the Office shall report to 

23 an appropriate Under Secretary or to an official 

24 holding a higher position than Under Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection may be construed to preclude— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Office from being elevated to a 

4 Bureau within the Department of State; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the head of the Office from being ele6 vated to an Assistant Secretary, if such an As7 sistant Secretary position does not increase the 

8 number of Assistant Secretary positions at the 

9 Department above the number authorized under 

10 subsection (c)(1).’’. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that the Office of International Cyberspace Policy 

13 established under section 1(g) of the State Department 

14 Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as added by subsection (a), 

15 should be a Bureau of the Department of State and the 

16 head of such Office should report directly to the Secretary 

17 of State or Deputy Secretary of State. 

18 (c) UNITED NATIONS.—The Permanent Representa19 tive of the United States to the United Nations should 

20 use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to 

21 oppose any measure that is inconsistent with the policy 

22 described in section 4. 


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1 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL CYBERSPACE EXECUTIVE AR2 RANGEMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is encouraged to 

4 enter into executive arrangements with foreign govern5 ments that support the policy described in section 4. 

6 (b) TRANSMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Section 112b of 

7 title 1, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘International 

9 Relations’’ and inserting ‘‘Foreign Affairs’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (e)(2)(B), by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(iii) A bilateral or multilateral cyberspace 

13 agreement.’’; 

14 (3) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub15 section (g); and 

16 (4) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(f) With respect to any bilateral or multilateral 

19 cyberspace agreement under subsection (e)(2)(B)(iii) and 

20 the information required to be transmitted to Congress 

21 under subsection (a), or with respect to any arrangement 

22 that seeks to secure commitments on responsible country 

23 behavior in cyberspace consistent with section 4(b)(5) of 

24 the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2019, the Secretary of State 

25 shall provide an explanation of such arrangement, includ26 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the purpose of such arrangement; 

2 ‘‘(2) how such arrangement is consistent with 

3 the policy described in section 4 of such Act; and 

4 ‘‘(3) how such arrangement will be imple5 mented.’’. 

6 (c) STATUS REPORT.—During the 5-year period im7 mediately following the transmittal to Congress of an 

8 agreement described in section 112b(e)(2)(B)(iii) of title 

9 1, United States Code, as added by subsection (b)(2), or 

10 until such agreement has been discontinued, if discon11 tinued within 5 years, the President shall— 

12 (1) notify the appropriate congressional com13 mittees if another country fails to adhere to signifi14 cant commitments contained in such agreement; and 

15 (2) describe the steps that the United States 

16 has taken or plans to take to ensure that all such 

17 commitments are fulfilled. 

18 (d) EXISTING EXECUTIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—Not 

19 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

20 this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief the appropriate 

21 congressional committees regarding any executive bilateral 

22 or multilateral cyberspace arrangement in effect before the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, including— 

24 (1) the arrangement announced between the 

25 United States and Japan on April 25, 2014; 


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1 (2) the arrangement announced between the 

2 United States and the United Kingdom on January 

3 16, 2015; 

4 (3) the arrangement announced between the 

5 United States and China on September 25, 2015; 

6 (4) the arrangement announced between the 

7 United States and Korea on October 16, 2015; 

8 (5) the arrangement announced between the 

9 United States and Australia on January 19, 2016; 

10 (6) the arrangement announced between the 

11 United States and India on June 7, 2016; 

12 (7) the arrangement announced between the 

13 United States and Argentina on April 27, 2017; 

14 (8) the arrangement announced between the 

15 United States and Kenya on June 22, 2017; 

16 (9) the arrangement announced between the 

17 United States and Israel on June 26, 2017; 

18 (10) the arrangement announced between the 

19 United States and France on February 9, 2018; 

20 (11) the arrangement announced between the 

21 United States and Brazil on May 14, 2018; and 

22 (12) any other similar bilateral or multilateral 

23 arrangement announced before such date of enact24 ment. 


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1 SEC. 7. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR CYBERSPACE. 

2 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, 

4 acting through the Secretary of State, and in coordination 

5 with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and 

6 agencies, shall develop a strategy relating to United States 

7 engagement with foreign governments on international 

8 norms with respect to responsible state behavior in cyber9 space. 

10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub11 section (a) shall include the following: 

12 (1) A review of actions and activities under13 taken to support the policy described in section 4. 

14 (2) A plan of action to guide the diplomacy of 

15 the Department of State with regard to foreign 

16 countries, including— 

17 (A) conducting bilateral and multilateral 

18 activities to develop norms of responsible coun19 try behavior in cyberspace consistent with the 

20 objectives under section 4(b)(5); and 

21 (B) reviewing the status of existing efforts 

22 in relevant multilateral fora, as appropriate, to 

23 obtain commitments on international norms in 

24 cyberspace. 


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1 (3) A review of alternative concepts with regard 

2 to international norms in cyberspace offered by for3 eign countries. 

4 (4) A detailed description of new and evolving 

5 threats in cyberspace from foreign adversaries, state6 sponsored actors, and private actors to— 

7 (A) United States national security; 

8 (B) Federal and private sector cyberspace 

9 infrastructure of the United States; 

10 (C) intellectual property in the United 

11 States; and 

12 (D) the privacy of citizens of the United 

13 States. 

14 (5) A review of policy tools available to the 

15 President to deter and de-escalate tensions with for16 eign countries, state-sponsored actors, and private 

17 actors regarding threats in cyberspace, the degree to 

18 which such tools have been used, and whether such 

19 tools have been effective deterrents. 

20 (6) A review of resources required to conduct 

21 activities to build responsible norms of international 

22 cyber behavior. 

23 (7) A plan of action, developed in consultation 

24 with relevant Federal departments and agencies as 

25 the President may direct, to guide the diplomacy of 


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1 the Department of State with regard to inclusion of 

2 cyber issues in mutual defense agreements. 

3 (c) FORM OF STRATEGY.— 

4 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re5 quired under subsection (a) shall be available to the 

6 public in unclassified form, including through publi7 cation in the Federal Register. 

8 (2) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The strategy required 

9 under subsection (a) may include a classified annex, 

10 consistent with United States national security inter11 ests, if the Secretary of State determines that such 

12 annex is appropriate. 

13 (d) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days after the 

14 completion of the strategy required under subsection (a), 

15 the Secretary of State shall brief the appropriate congres16 sional committees on the strategy, including any material 

17 contained in a classified annex. 

18 (e) UPDATES.—The strategy required under sub19 section (a) shall be updated— 

20 (1) not later than 90 days after any material 

21 change to United States policy described in such 

22 strategy; and 

23 (2) not later than 1 year after the inauguration 

24 of each new President. 


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1 (f) PREEXISTING REQUIREMENT.—The Rec2 ommendations to the President on Protecting American 

3 Cyber Interests through International Engagement, pre4 pared by the Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues 

5 on May 31, 2018, pursuant to section 3(c) of Executive 

6 Order 13800 (82 Fed. Reg. 22391), shall be deemed to 

7 satisfy the requirement under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 8. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 

9 PRACTICES. 

10 Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

11 (22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(h)(1) The report required under subsection (d) 

14 shall include an assessment of freedom of expression with 

15 respect to electronic information in each foreign country 

16 that includes the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the extent to which gov18 ernment authorities in the country inappropriately 

19 attempt to filter, censor, or otherwise block or re20 move nonviolent expression of political or religious 

21 opinion or belief through the Internet, including 

22 electronic mail, and a description of the means by 

23 which such authorities attempt to inappropriately 

24 block or remove such expression. 


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1 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which gov2 ernment authorities in the country have persecuted 

3 or otherwise punished, arbitrarily and without due 

4 process, an individual or group for the nonviolent ex5 pression of political, religious, or ideological opinion 

6 or belief through the Internet, including electronic 

7 mail. 

8 ‘‘(C) An assessment of the extent to which gov9 ernment authorities in the country have sought, in10 appropriately and with malicious intent, to collect, 

11 request, obtain, or disclose without due process per12 sonally identifiable information of a person in con13 nection with that person’s nonviolent expression of 

14 political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, in15 cluding expression that would be protected by the 

16 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 

17 adopted at New York December 16, 1966, and en18 tered into force March 23, 1976, as interpreted by 

19 the United States. 

20 ‘‘(D) An assessment of the extent to which wire 

21 communications and electronic communications are 

22 monitored without due process and in contravention 

23 to United States policy with respect to the principles 

24 of privacy, human rights, democracy, and rule of 

25 law. 


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1 ‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments 

2 under paragraph (1), United States diplomatic personnel 

3 should consult with relevant entities, including human 

4 rights organizations, the private sector, the governments 

5 of like-minded countries, technology and Internet compa6 nies, and other appropriate nongovernmental organiza7 tions or entities. 

8 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘electronic communication’ has 

10 the meaning given the term in section 2510 of title 

11 18, United States Code; 

12 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Internet’ has the meaning given 

13 the term in section 231(e)(3) of the Communications 

14 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)(3)); 

15 ‘‘(C) the term ‘personally identifiable informa16 tion’ means data in a form that identifies a par17 ticular person; and 

18 ‘‘(D) the term ‘wire communication’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 2510 of title 18, 

20 United States Code.’’. 

21 SEC. 9. GAO REPORT ON CYBER THREATS AND DATA MIS22 USE. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 


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1 shall submit a report and provide a briefing to the appro2 priate congressional committees that includes— 

3 (1) a description of the primary threats to the 

4 personal information of United States citizens from 

5 international actors within the cyberspace domain; 

6 (2) an assessment of the extent to which United 

7 States diplomatic processes and other efforts with 

8 foreign countries, including through multilateral 

9 fora, bilateral engagements, and negotiated cyber10 space agreements, strengthen the protections of 

11 United States citizens’ personal information; 

12 (3) an assessment of the Department of State’s 

13 report in response to Executive Order 13800 (82 

14 Fed. Reg. 22391), which documents an engagement 

15 strategy for international cooperation in cybersecu16 rity and the extent to which this strategy addresses 

17 protections of United States citizens’ personal infor18 mation; 

19 (4) recommendations for United States policy20 makers on methods to properly address and 

21 strengthen the protections of United States citizens’ 

22 personal information from misuse by international 

23 actors; and 

24 (5) any other matters deemed relevant by the 

25 Comptroller General. 


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1 SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CYBERSECURITY SANC2 TIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA AND CYBER3 SECURITY LEGISLATION IN VIETNAM. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) the President should designate all entities 

6 that knowingly engage in significant activities under7 mining cybersecurity through the use of computer 

8 networks or systems against foreign persons, govern9 ments, or other entities on behalf of the Government 

10 of North Korea, consistent with section 209(b) of 

11 the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement 

12 Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9229(b)); 

13 (2) the cybersecurity law approved by the Na14 tional Assembly of Vietnam on June 12, 2018— 

15 (A) may not be consistent with inter16 national trade standards; and 

17 (B) may endanger the privacy of citizens 

18 of Vietnam; and 

19 (3) the Government of Vietnam should work 

20 with the United States and other countries to ensure 

21 that such law meets all relevant international stand22 ards. 

23 SEC. 11. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

24 (a) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

25 may be construed to infringe upon the related functions 


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1 of any Executive agency vested in such agency under any 

2 provision of law. 

Æ 


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