I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1543 

To provide authorities to prohibit the provision of services by social media 

platforms to certain individuals and entities on the Specially Designated 

Nationals List and senior officials of governments of a state sponsor 

of terrorism. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2021 

Mr. BARR (for himself, Mr. BANKS, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. 

WALTZ, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. POSEY, Mr. STEUBE, 

Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. TURNER, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. 

KELLER, Mr. CARL, Mr. ROSE, Mr. TIFFANY, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mr. 

BABIN, Mr. STEIL, Mr. BOST, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mrs. 

HARTZLER, Mr. JACOBS of New York, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. LOUDERMILK, 

Mr. DUNN, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. 

MCKINLEY, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. PFLUGER, Mr. MANN, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. 

BUDD, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. ROY, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, and Mr. 

LAMALFA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide authorities to prohibit the provision of services 

by social media platforms to certain individuals and entities on the Specially Designated Nationals List and senior officials of governments of a state sponsor of terrorism. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Social Media Ac3 counts for Terrorists or State Sponsors of Terrorism Act 

4 of 2021’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Despite having one of his Twitter accounts 

8 suspended, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah 

9 Ali Khamanei, a Specially Designated Global Ter10 rorist by the Department of the Treasury, and the 

11 leader of the world’s leading State Sponsor of Ter12 rorism, has multiple social media accounts on Twit13 ter and Instagram. The Supreme Leader has used 

14 his accounts to threaten violence against Americans, 

15 support the destruction of the State of Israel, pro16 mote conspiracy theories and disinformation regard17 ing COVID–19 vaccines, and incite anti-Semitism on 

18 a number of occasions. 

19 (2) The Foreign Minister of Iran, Javad Zarif, 

20 a senior official of a State Sponsor of Terrorism, has 

21 a number of social media accounts on Twitter, 

22 Instagram, and other platforms. On January 2, 

23 2021, Zarif tweeted an anti-Semitic conspiracy the24 ory that Israel was plotting attacks on Americans in 

25 Iraq. 


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1 (3) The President of the Syria, Bashar al2 Assad, responsible for the brutal killing of half a 

3 million of his own people, and the President of a 

4 State Sponsor of Terrorism, has multiple social 

5 media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. He has 

6 used his accounts on social media to whitewash and 

7 promote his regime, and promote hatred against the 

8 United States and Israel. 

9 (4) The President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, 

10 who heads a regime responsible for multiple gross 

11 violations of human rights, and which is a State 

12 Sponsor of Terrorism, has an account on Twitter 

13 representing the official Cuban Presidency. He has 

14 used his account on social media to promote global 

15 communism, anti-Americanism, and whitewash the 

16 Cuban regime’s human rights abuses. 

17 (5) Terrorist organizations and entities sanc18 tioned for terrorism under Executive Order 13224, 

19 including the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard 

20 Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah, Kata’ib Hezbollah, 

21 Hamas, and Asa’ib ahl al-Haq, have a number of so22 cial media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, 

23 Instagram, and YouTube. 

24 (6) Social media platforms make a profit on ac25 counts provided and maintained to individuals and 


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1 entities sanctioned for terrorism through the sale of 

2 advertisements which are viewed by such sanctioned 

3 individuals through their accounts. 

4 (7) Economic sanctions prohibiting the provi5 sion of services to individuals and entities sanctioned 

6 for terrorism should apply to social media platforms, 

7 while still supporting the free flow of information 

8 and maintaining the important principle that infor9 mation should remain free of sanctions. 

10 SEC. 3. AUTHORITIES TO PROHIBIT THE PROVISION OF 

11 SERVICES BY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO 

12 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES ON 

13 THE SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS 

14 LIST AND SENIOR OFFICIALS OF GOVERN15 MENTS OF A STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM. 

16 (a) AUTHORITIES UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL

17 EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWERS ACT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203 of the Inter19 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

20 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 

21 (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub22 section (d); and 

23 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b) and except as 

2 provided in paragraph (2), the authority granted to the 

3 President by this section does include the authority to reg4 ulate or prohibit the provision by a provider of a social 

5 media platform of a covered service to— 

6 ‘‘(A) an individual or entity who, pursuant to 

7 the exercise of authorities under part 594 of title 31, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, is on the list of spe9 cially designated nationals and blocked persons 

10 maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

11 of the Department of the Treasury, if such provider 

12 knew or should have known that such individual or 

13 entity was on such list and that such provider was 

14 providing such service to such individual or entity; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(B) an individual who is a senior official of a 

17 government of a state sponsor of terrorism, if such 

18 provider knew or should have known that such indi19 vidual was such a senior official and that such pro20 vider was providing such service to such individual. 

21 ‘‘(2) The authority granted to the President by this 

22 section does not include the authority to regulate or pro23 hibit the provision by a provider of a social media platform 

24 of a covered service to an individual who is a senior official 

25 of a government of a state sponsor of terrorism described 


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1 in paragraph (1)(B) solely for legitimate emergency alert 

2 purposes. 

3 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 

4 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered service’— 

5 ‘‘(i) means, with respect to a provider of a 

6 social media platform, any service provided by 

7 the provider through the platform, including a 

8 service that is publicly available and free of 

9 charge (including permitting an individual or 

10 entity to create or maintain an account or pro11 file); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) does not include the ability of an indi13 vidual or entity to— 

14 ‘‘(I) access the platform without an 

15 account or profile; or 

16 ‘‘(II) send or receive private commu17 nications on the platform; 

18 ‘‘(B) the term ‘social media platform’— 

19 ‘‘(i) means a website or other internet me20 dium, including a mobile application, that— 

21 ‘‘(I) permits an individual or entity to 

22 create an account or profile for the pur23 pose of generating, sharing, and viewing 

24 user-generated content through such ac25 count or profile; 


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1 ‘‘(II) enables one or more users to 

2 generate content that can be viewed by 

3 other users of the medium; and 

4 ‘‘(III) enables users to view content 

5 generated by other users of the medium; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

8 ‘‘(I) any such website or other inter9 net medium that serves fewer than 

10 100,000 users who access their account or 

11 profile at least once a month; 

12 ‘‘(II) an email program, email dis13 tribution list, or multi-person text message 

14 group; 

15 ‘‘(III) a website or other internet me16 dium that is primarily for the purpose of 

17 internet commerce; 

18 ‘‘(IV) a software application (includ19 ing a mobile application) used solely to 

20 communicate with others through instant 

21 messages, audio calls, video calls, or any 

22 combination thereof; or 

23 ‘‘(V) a website or other internet me24 dium the primary purpose of which is— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) to allow users to post prod2 uct reviews, business reviews, or travel 

3 information and reviews; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) to provide emergency alert 

5 services; 

6 ‘‘(C) the term ‘senior official’, with respect to 

7 the government of a state sponsor of terrorism, 

8 means— 

9 ‘‘(i) the head of state; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the head of government; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the Supreme Leader; 

12 ‘‘(iv) a member of the cabinet; 

13 ‘‘(v) any other high ranking official in the 

14 defense, security, or foreign affairs apparatus of 

15 the government; or 

16 ‘‘(vi) any other official which the President 

17 determines to be a ‘senior official’ for purposes 

18 of this subparagraph; and 

19 ‘‘(D) the term ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ 

20 means a country the government of which the Sec21 retary of State determines has repeatedly provided 

22 support for international terrorism pursuant to— 

23 ‘‘(i) section 1754(c)(1)(A) of the Export 

24 Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 

25 4318(c)(1)(A)); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) section 620A of the Foreign Assist2 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 

3 ‘‘(iii) section 40 of the Arms Export Con4 trol Act (22 U.S.C. 2780); or 

5 ‘‘(iv) any other provision of law.’’. 

6 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

7 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that 

8 is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act. 

10 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

13 President shall, except as provided in paragraph (2), 

14 prohibit the provision by a provider of a social media 

15 platform of a covered service to— 

16 (A) an individual or entity who, pursuant 

17 to the exercise of authorities under part 594 of 

18 title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, is on the 

19 list of specially designated nationals and 

20 blocked persons maintained by the Office of 

21 Foreign Assets Control of the Department of 

22 the Treasury, if such provider knew or should 

23 have known that such individual or entity was 

24 on such list and that such provider was proVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1543.IH H1543

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1 viding such service to such individual or entity; 

2 or 

3 (B) an individual who is a senior official of 

4 a government of a state sponsor of terrorism, if 

5 such provider knew or should have known that 

6 such individual was such a senior official and 

7 that such provider was providing such service to 

8 such individual. 

9 (2) EXCEPTION.—The authority granted to the 

10 President by this subsection does not include the au11 thority to regulate or prohibit the provision by a pro12 vider of a social media platform of a covered service 

13 to an individual who is a senior official of a govern14 ment of a state sponsor of terrorism described in 

15 paragraph (1)(B) solely for legitimate emergency 

16 alert purposes. 

17 (3) WAIVER.—The President may waive the 

18 prohibition required by this subsection with respect 

19 to an individual or entity if the President certifies to 

20 the appropriate congressional committees that such 

21 a waiver is in the national security interests of the 

22 United States. 

23 (4) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

24 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter25 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 


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1 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 

2 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

3 violation of regulations promulgated to carry out 

4 this subsection or the sanctions imposed pursuant to 

5 this subsection to the same extent that such pen6 alties apply to a person that commits an unlawful 

7 act described in section 206(a) of that Act. 

8 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) the Department of the Treasury and the 

11 Department of State should encourage the free flow 

12 of information in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, 

13 and other countries controlled by authoritarian re14 gimes in order to counter such regimes’ repression 

15 of their peoples; and 

16 (2) in order to facilitate the free flow of infor17 mation in such countries, in implementing this Act 

18 and the amendments made by this Act, the Depart19 ment of Treasury should ensure that consumer com20 munication technologies, as well as tools to cir21 cumvent government censorship, are available to civil 

22 society and democratic activists in such countries. 

23 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

24 or any amendment made by this Act— 


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1 (1) may be construed to restrict the ability of 

2 the general populations of Iran, Syria, North Korea, 

3 Cuba, and other countries controlled by authori4 tarian regimes to create or maintain accounts or 

5 profiles on social media platforms for individuals or 

6 entities not listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (c) 

7 of the International Emergency Economic Powers 

8 Act (50 U.S.C. 1702), as added by subsection (a) of 

9 this section; and 

10 (2) may be construed to restrict or prohibit pri11 vate communications. 

12 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treas14 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall sub15 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

16 on— 

17 (1) the status of sanctions imposed pursuant to 

18 subsection (b), including the impact of such sanc19 tions on the sanctioned individuals and entities; and 

20 (2) efforts taken to facilitate the free flow of in21 formation in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and 

22 other countries controlled by authoritarian regimes 

23 and access to communications technologies by civil 

24 society and democratic activists in such countries. 

25 (f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, not 

2 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, prescribe regulations as necessary for 

4 the implementation of this Act and the amendments 

5 made by this Act. 

6 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—No later 

7 than 10 days before the prescription of regulations 

8 under subsection (1), the President shall notify the 

9 appropriate congressional committees regarding the 

10 proposed regulations and the provisions this Act and 

11 the amendments made by this Act that the regula12 tions are implementing. 

13 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com16 mittees’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

18 the Committee on Financial Services of the 

19 House of Representatives; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

21 and the Committee on Banking of the Senate. 

22 (2) COVERED SERVICE; SENIOR OFFICIAL; SO23 CIAL MEDIA PLATFORM; STATE SPONSOR OF TER24 RORISM.—The terms ‘‘covered service’’, ‘‘senior offi25 cial’’, ‘‘social media platform’’, and ‘‘state sponsor of 


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1 terrorism’’ have the meanings given the terms in 

2 subsection (c) of section 203 of the International 

3 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702), 

4 as added by subsection (a) of this section. 

Æ 


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