I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1251 

To support United States international cyber diplomacy, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. 

GALLAGHER, and Mr. KEATING) 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 2021’’. 

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. 


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Sec. 7. International strategy for cyberspace. 

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

Sec. 9. GAO report on cyber diplomacy. 

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

cybersecurity legislation in Vietnam. 

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 new subsection: 

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

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

15 the Department of State, a Bureau of International 

16 Cyberspace Policy (referred to in this subsection as 

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

18 the 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 Bu23 reau shall perform such duties and exercise 

24 such powers as the Secretary of State shall pre25 scribe, including implementing the policy of the 


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1 United States described in section 4 of the 

2 Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2021. 

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

4 duties and responsibilities of the head of the 

5 Bureau 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 Bureau; 

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 2021; 

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 relevant international 

13 cyberspace and digital economy issues as 

14 described in the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 

15 2021; 

16 ‘‘(xvii) to promote international poli17 cies to secure radio frequency spectrum for 

18 United States businesses and national se19 curity needs; 

20 ‘‘(xviii) to promote and protect the ex21 ercise of human rights, including freedom 

22 of speech and religion, through the Inter23 net; 


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1 ‘‘(xix) to build capacity of United 

2 States diplomatic officials to engage on 

3 cyberspace issues; 

4 ‘‘(xx) to encourage the development 

5 and adoption by foreign countries of inter6 nationally recognized standards, policies, 

7 and best practices; and 

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

9 other Executive agencies with related func10 tions vested in such Executive agencies by 

11 law. 

12 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The head of the Bu13 reau should be an individual of demonstrated com14 petency in the fields of— 

15 ‘‘(A) cybersecurity and other relevant 

16 cyberspace issues; and 

17 ‘‘(B) international diplomacy. 

18 ‘‘(4) ORGANIZATIONAL PLACEMENT.—During 

19 the 4-year period beginning on the date of the enact20 ment of the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2021, the head 

21 of the Bureau shall report to the Under Secretary 

22 for Political Affairs or to an official holding a higher 

23 position than the Under Secretary for Political Af24 fairs in the Department of State. After the conclu25 sion of such period, the head of the Bueau shall reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1251.IH H1251

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1 port to an appropriate Under Secretary or to an of2 ficial holding a higher position than Under Sec3 retary. 

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

5 this subsection may be construed to preclude the 

6 head of the Bureau from being elevated to an Assist7 ant Secretary, if such an Assistant Secretary posi8 tion does not increase the number of Assistant Sec9 retary positions at the Department above the num10 ber authorized under subsection (c)(1).’’. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con12 gress that the Bureau 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 have a diverse workforce composed of qualified in16 dividuals, including such individuals from traditionally 

17 under-represented groups. 

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 new clause: 

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 new subsection: 

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 2021, 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 clause (iii) of section 

9 112b(e)(2)(B) of title 1, United States Code, as added by 

10 subsection (b)(2), or until such agreement has been dis11 continued, if discontinued within 5 years, the President 

12 shall— 

13 (1) notify the appropriate congressional com14 mittees if another country fails to adhere to signifi15 cant commitments contained in such agreement; and 

16 (2) describe the steps that the United States 

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

18 commitments are fulfilled. 

19 (d) EXISTING EXECUTIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—Not 

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

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

22 congressional committees regarding any executive bilateral 

23 or multilateral cyberspace arrangement in effect before the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, including— 


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1 (1) the arrangement announced between the 

2 United States and Japan on April 25, 2014; 

3 (2) the arrangement announced between the 

4 United States and the United Kingdom on January 

5 16, 2015; 

6 (3) the arrangement announced between the 

7 United States and China on September 25, 2015; 

8 (4) the arrangement announced between the 

9 United States and Korea on October 16, 2015; 

10 (5) the arrangement announced between the 

11 United States and Australia on January 19, 2016; 

12 (6) the arrangement announced between the 

13 United States and India on June 7, 2016; 

14 (7) the arrangement announced between the 

15 United States and Argentina on April 27, 2017; 

16 (8) the arrangement announced between the 

17 United States and Kenya on June 22, 2017; 

18 (9) the arrangement announced between the 

19 United States and Israel on June 26, 2017; 

20 (10) the arrangement announced between the 

21 United States and France on February 9, 2018; 

22 (11) the arrangement announced between the 

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


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1 (12) any other similar bilateral or multilateral 

2 arrangement announced before such date of enact3 ment. 

4 SEC. 7. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR CYBERSPACE. 

5 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

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

7 acting through the Secretary of State, and in coordination 

8 with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and 

9 agencies, shall develop a strategy relating to United States 

10 engagement with foreign governments on international 

11 norms with respect to responsible state behavior in cyber12 space. 

13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub14 section (a) shall include the following: 

15 (1) A review of actions and activities under16 taken to support the policy described in section 4. 

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

18 the Department of State with regard to foreign 

19 countries, including— 

20 (A) conducting bilateral and multilateral 

21 activities to develop norms of responsible coun22 try behavior in cyberspace consistent with the 

23 objectives specified in section 4(b)(5); and 

24 (B) reviewing the status of existing efforts 

25 in relevant multilateral fora, as appropriate, to 


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1 obtain commitments on international norms in 

2 cyberspace. 

3 (3) A review of alternative concepts with regard 

4 to international norms in cyberspace offered by for5 eign countries. 

6 (4) A detailed description of new and evolving 

7 threats in cyberspace from foreign adversaries, state8 sponsored actors, and private actors to— 

9 (A) United States national security; 

10 (B) Federal and private sector cyberspace 

11 infrastructure of the United States; 

12 (C) intellectual property in the United 

13 States; and 

14 (D) the privacy of citizens of the United 

15 States. 

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

17 President to deter and de-escalate tensions with for18 eign countries, state-sponsored actors, and private 

19 actors regarding threats in cyberspace, the degree to 

20 which such tools have been used, and whether such 

21 tools have been effective deterrents. 

22 (6) A review of resources required to conduct 

23 activities to build responsible norms of international 

24 cyber behavior. 


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

2 with relevant Federal departments and agencies as 

3 the President may direct, to guide the diplomacy of 

4 the Department of State with regard to inclusion of 

5 cyber issues in mutual defense agreements. 

6 (c) FORM OF STRATEGY.— 

7 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The strategy re8 quired under subsection (a) shall be available to the 

9 public in unclassified form, including through publi10 cation in the Federal Register. 

11 (2) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The strategy required 

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

13 consistent with United States national security inter14 ests, if the Secretary of State determines that such 

15 annex is appropriate. 

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

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

18 the Secretary of State shall brief the appropriate congres19 sional committees on the strategy, including any material 

20 contained in a classified annex. 

21 (e) UPDATES.—The strategy required under sub22 section (a) shall be updated— 

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

24 change to United States policy described in such 

25 strategy; and 


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1 (2) not later than one year after the inaugura2 tion of each new President. 

3 SEC. 8. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 

4 PRACTICES. 

5 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended— 

6 (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by add7 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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

9 shall include an assessment of freedom of expression with 

10 respect to electronic information in each foreign country, 

11 which information shall include the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the extent to which gov13 ernment authorities in the country inappropriately 

14 attempt to filter, censor, or otherwise block or re15 move nonviolent expression of political or religious 

16 opinion or belief through the Internet, including 

17 electronic mail, and a description of the means by 

18 which such authorities attempt to inappropriately 

19 block or remove such expression. 

20 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which gov21 ernment authorities in the country have persecuted 

22 or otherwise punished, arbitrarily and without due 

23 process, an individual or group for the nonviolent ex24 pression of political, religious, or ideological opinion 


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1 or belief through the Internet, including electronic 

2 mail. 

3 ‘‘(C) An assessment of the extent to which gov4 ernment authorities in the country have sought, in5 appropriately and with malicious intent, to collect, 

6 request, obtain, or disclose without due process per7 sonally identifiable information of a person in con8 nection with that person’s nonviolent expression of 

9 political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, in10 cluding expression that would be protected by the 

11 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 

12 adopted at New York December 16, 1966, and en13 tered into force March 23, 1976, as interpreted by 

14 the United States. 

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

16 communications and electronic communications are 

17 monitored without due process and in contravention 

18 to United States policy with respect to the principles 

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

20 law. 

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

22 under paragraph (1), United States diplomatic personnel 

23 should consult with relevant entities, including human 

24 rights organizations, the private sector, the governments 

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1 nies, and other appropriate nongovernmental organiza2 tions or entities. 

3 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

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

5 the meaning given the term in section 2510 of title 

6 18, United States Code; 

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

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

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

10 ‘‘(C) the term ‘personally identifiable informa11 tion’ means data in a form that identifies a par12 ticular person; and 

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

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

15 United States Code.’’; and 

16 (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 

17 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 

18 (i) (relating to child marriage) as subjection (j); 

19 and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subsection: 

22 ‘‘(h)(1) The report required under subsection (b) 

23 shall include an assessment of freedom of expression with 

24 respect to electronic information in each foreign country, 

25 which information shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the extent to which gov2 ernment authorities in the country inappropriately 

3 attempt to filter, censor, or otherwise block or re4 move nonviolent expression of political or religious 

5 opinion or belief through the Internet, including 

6 electronic mail, and a description of the means by 

7 which such authorities attempt to inappropriately 

8 block or remove such expression. 

9 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which gov10 ernment authorities in the country have persecuted 

11 or otherwise punished, arbitrarily and without due 

12 process, an individual or group for the nonviolent ex13 pression of political, religious, or ideological opinion 

14 or belief through the Internet, including electronic 

15 mail. 

16 ‘‘(C) An assessment of the extent to which gov17 ernment authorities in the country have sought, in18 appropriately and with malicious intent, to collect, 

19 request, obtain, or disclose without due process per20 sonally identifiable information of a person in con21 nection with that person’s nonviolent expression of 

22 political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief, in23 cluding expression that would be protected by the 

24 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 

25 adopted at New York December 16, 1966, and enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1251.IH H1251

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1 tered into force March 23, 1976, as interpreted by 

2 the United States. 

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

4 communications and electronic communications are 

5 monitored without due process and in contravention 

6 to United States policy with respect to the principles 

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

8 law. 

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

10 under paragraph (1), United States diplomatic personnel 

11 should consult with relevant entities, including human 

12 rights organizations, the private sector, the governments 

13 of like-minded countries, technology and Internet compa14 nies, and other appropriate nongovernmental organiza15 tions or entities. 

16 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

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

18 the meaning given the term in section 2510 of title 

19 18, United States Code; 

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

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

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

23 ‘‘(C) the term ‘personally identifiable informa24 tion’ means data in a form that identifies a par25 ticular person; and 


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

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

3 United States Code.’’. 

4 SEC. 9. GAO REPORT ON CYBER DIPLOMACY. 

5 Not later than one year after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

7 States shall submit a report and provide a briefing to the 

8 appropriate congressional committees that includes— 

9 (1) an assessment of the extent to which United 

10 States diplomatic processes and other efforts with 

11 foreign countries, including through multilateral 

12 fora, bilateral engagements, and negotiated cyber13 space agreements, advance the full range of United 

14 States interests in cyberspace, including the policy 

15 described in section 4; 

16 (2) an assessment of the Department of State’s 

17 organizational structure and approach to managing 

18 its diplomatic efforts to advance the full range of 

19 United States interests in cyberspace, including a re20 view of— 

21 (A) the establishment of a bureau in the 

22 Department of State to lead the Department’s 

23 international cyber mission; 


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1 (B) the current or proposed diplomatic 

2 mission, structure, staffing, funding, and activi3 ties of the bureau; 

4 (C) how the establishment of the bureau 

5 has impacted or is likely to impact the structure 

6 and organization of the Department; and 

7 (D) what challenges, if any, the Depart8 ment has faced or will face in establishing such 

9 bureau; and 

10 (3) any other matters determined relevant by 

11 the Comptroller General. 

12 SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CYBERSECURITY SANC13 TIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA AND CYBER14 SECURITY LEGISLATION IN VIETNAM. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the President should designate all entities 

17 that knowingly engage in significant activities under18 mining cybersecurity through the use of computer 

19 networks or systems against foreign persons, govern20 ments, or other entities on behalf of the Government 

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

22 the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement 

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

24 (2) the cybersecurity law approved by the Na25 tional Assembly of Vietnam on June 12, 2018— 


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1 (A) may not be consistent with inter2 national trade standards; and 

3 (B) may endanger the privacy of citizens 

4 of Vietnam; and 

5 (3) the Government of Vietnam should work 

6 with the United States and other countries to ensure 

7 that such law meets all relevant international stand8 ards. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS