I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5537 

To promote internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy 

toward the internet, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2016 

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mr. ENGEL, and Ms. 

MENG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy toward the internet, 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 ‘‘Digital Global Access 

5 Policy Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to encourage the efforts 

8 of developing countries to improve mobile and fixed access 

9 to the internet in order to spur economic growth and job 


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1 creation, improve health, education, and financial services, 

2 reduce poverty and gender inequality, mitigate disasters, 

3 promote democracy and good governance, strengthen cy4 bersecurity, and update the Department of State’s struc5 ture to address cyberspace policy. 

6 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Since 2005, the number of internet users 

9 has more than tripled from 1,000,000,000 to 

10 3,200,000,000. 

11 (2) 4.2 billion people, 60 percent of the world’s 

12 population, remain offline and the growth rate of 

13 internet access is slowing. An estimated 75 percent 

14 of the offline population lives in just 20 countries 

15 and is largely rural, female, elderly, illiterate, and 

16 low-income. 

17 (3) Studies suggest that across the developing 

18 world, women are nearly 50 percent less likely to ac19 cess the internet than men living within the same 

20 communities, and that this digital gender divide car21 ries with it a great economic cost. According to a 

22 study, ‘‘Women and the Web’’, bringing an addi23 tional 600,000,000 women online would contribute 

24 $13,000,000,000–$18,000,000,000 to annual GDP 

25 across 144 developing countries. 


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1 (4) Without increased internet access, the devel2 oping world risks falling behind. 

3 (5) Internet access in developing countries is 

4 hampered by a lack of infrastructure and a poor reg5 ulatory environment for investment. 

6 (6) Build-once policies and approaches are poli7 cies or practices that minimize the number and scale 

8 of excavation and construction activities when in9 stalling telecommunications infrastructure in rights10 of-way, thereby lowering the installation costs for 

11 high-speed internet networks and serve as a develop12 ment best practice. 

13 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 

15 States to partner, consult, and coordinate with the govern16 ments of foreign countries, international organizations, re17 gional economic communities, businesses, civil society, and 

18 other stakeholders in a concerted effort to— 

19 (1) promote first-time internet access to mobile 

20 or broadband internet for at least 1.5 billion people 

21 in developing countries by 2020 in both urban and 

22 rural areas; 

23 (2) promote internet deployment and related co24 ordination, capacity building, and build-once policies 


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1 and approaches in developing countries, including 

2 actions to encourage— 

3 (A) a build-once approach by standardizing 

4 the inclusion of broadband conduit pipes which 

5 house fiber optic communications cable that 

6 support broadband or wireless facilities for 

7 broadband service as part of rights-of-way 

8 projects, including sewers, power transmission 

9 facilities, rail, pipelines, bridges, tunnels, and 

10 roads, that are funded, co-funded, or partially 

11 financed by the United States or any inter12 national organization that includes the United 

13 States as a member, in consultation with tele14 communications providers, unless a cost-benefit 

15 analysis determines that the cost of such ap16 proach outweighs the benefits; 

17 (B) national and local government agencies 

18 of developing countries and donor governments 

19 and organizations to coordinate road building, 

20 pipe laying, and major infrastructure with the 

21 private sector so that, for example, fiber optic 

22 cable could be laid below roads at the time such 

23 roads are built; and 

24 (C) international organizations to increase 

25 their financial support, including grants and 


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1 loans, and technical assistance to expand infor2 mation and communications access and internet 

3 connectivity; 

4 (3) promote policy changes that encourage first5 time affordable access to the internet in developing 

6 countries, including actions to encourage— 

7 (A) integration of universal and gender-eq8 uitable internet access goals, to be informed by 

9 the collection of related gender disaggregated 

10 data, and internet tools into national develop11 ment plans and United States Government 

12 country-level strategies; 

13 (B) reforms of competition laws and spec14 trum allocation processes that may impede the 

15 ability of companies to provide internet services; 

16 and 

17 (C) efforts to improve procurement proc18 esses to help attract and incentivize investment 

19 in internet infrastructure; 

20 (4) promote the removal of tax and regulatory 

21 barriers to internet access; 

22 (5) promote the use of the internet to increase 

23 economic growth and trade, including— 


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1 (A) policies and strategies to remove re2 strictions to e-commerce, cross-border informa3 tion flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 

4 (B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 

5 enabled by access to technology; 

6 (6) promote the use of the internet to bolster 

7 democracy, government accountability, transparency, 

8 and human rights, including— 

9 (A) policies, initiatives, and investments, 

10 including the development of national internet 

11 plans, that are consistent with United States 

12 human rights goals, including freedom of ex13 pression, religion, and association; 

14 (B) policies and initiatives aimed at pro15 moting the multistakeholder model of internet 

16 governance; and 

17 (C) policies and support programs, re18 search, and technologies that safeguard human 

19 rights and fundamental freedoms online, and 

20 enable political organizing and activism, free 

21 speech, and religious expression that are in 

22 compliance with international human rights 

23 standards; 

24 (7) promote internet access and inclusion into 

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1 abilities, minorities, low-income and marginalized 

2 groups, and underserved populations; and 

3 (8) promote cybersecurity and data protection, 

4 including international adoption of the National In5 stitute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Frame6 work for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity that 

7 are industry-led, globally recognized cybersecurity 

8 standards and best practices. 

9 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ORGANIZATION. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that— 

12 (1) the title of the Under Secretary for Eco13 nomic Growth, Energy, and the Environment should 

14 be changed to the Under Secretary for Economics, 

15 Energy, the Environment, and Cyberspace; 

16 (2) the Secretary of State should redesignate an 

17 existing Assistant Secretary position to be the As18 sistant Secretary for Technology, International Com19 munications, and Cyberspace to lead the Depart20 ment of States’s diplomatic technology policy gen21 erally, including for internet access, internet govern22 ance, internet freedom, telecommunications net23 works, information and communications technology 

24 infrastructures, and cybersecurity; and 


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1 (3) such Assistant Secretary for Technology, 

2 International Communications, and Cyberspace 

3 should report to the Under Secretary for Economic 

4 Growth, Energy, the Environment, and Cyberspace 

5 referred to in paragraph (1). 

6 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In recognition of the added value 

7 of technical knowledge and expertise in the policymaking 

8 and diplomatic channels, the Secretary of State should— 

9 (1) update existing training programs relevant 

10 to policy discussions, particularly for individuals em11 ployed under the Under Secretary referred to in sub12 section (a)(1); and 

13 (2) promote the recruitment of candidates with 

14 technical expertise into the Civil Service and the 

15 Foreign Service. 

16 (c) OFFSET.—To offset any costs incurred by the De17 partment of State to carry out the designation of an As18 sistant Secretary for Technology, International Commu19 nications and Cyberspace in accordance with subsection 

20 (a), the Secretary of State shall eliminate such positions 

21 within the Department of State, unless otherwise author22 ized or required by law, as the Secretary determines to 

23 be necessary to fully offset such costs. 

24 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The redesignation of 

25 the Assistant Secretary position described in subsection 


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1 (a)(2) may not be construed as increasing the number of 

2 Assistant Secretary positions at the Department of State 

3 above the current level of 24 as authorized in section 

4 1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 

5 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)). 

6 SEC. 6. USAID. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

8 of the United States Agency for International Develop9 ment should— 

10 (1) integrate efforts to expand internet access, 

11 develop appropriate technologies, and enhance digital 

12 literacy into the education, development, and eco13 nomic growth programs of the agency, where appro14 priate; 

15 (2) expand the utilization of information and 

16 communications technologies in humanitarian aid 

17 and disaster relief responses and United States oper18 ations involving stabilization and security to improve 

19 donor coordination, reduce duplication and waste, 

20 capture and share lessons learned, and augment dis21 aster preparedness and risk mitigation strategies; 

22 and 

23 (3) establish and promote guidelines for the 

24 protection of personal information of individuals 

25 served by humanitarian, disaster, and development 


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1 programs directly through the United States Gov2 ernment, through contracts funded by the United 

3 States Government and by international organiza4 tions. 

5 SEC. 7. PEACE CORPS. 

6 Section 3 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2502) 

7 is amended by— 

8 (1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

9 (e); and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 sections: 

12 ‘‘(f) It is the sense of Congress that access to tech13 nology can transform agriculture, community economic de14 velopment, education, environment, health, and youth de15 velopment which are the sectors in which Peace Corps cur16 rently develops positions for Volunteers. 

17 ‘‘(g) In giving attention to the programs, projects, 

18 training, and other activities referred to in subsection (f), 

19 the Peace Corps should develop positions for Volunteers 

20 that are focused on leveraging technology for development, 

21 education, and social and economic mobility.’’. 

22 SEC. 8. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

23 In pursuing the policy described in section 4, the 

24 President should direct United States representatives to 

25 appropriate international bodies to use the influence of the 


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1 United States, consistent with the broad development 

2 goals of the United States, to advocate that each such 

3 body— 

4 (1) commit to increase efforts to promote gen5 der-equitable internet access, in partnership with 

6 stakeholders and consistent with host countries’ ab7 sorptive capacity; 

8 (2) enhance coordination with stakeholders in 

9 increasing affordable and gender-equitable access to 

10 the internet; 

11 (3) integrate gender-equitable affordable inter12 net access into existing economic and business as13 sessments, evaluations, and indexes such as the Mil14 lennium Challenge Corporation constraints analysis, 

15 the Doing Business Report, International Monetary 

16 Fund Article IV assessments and country reports, 

17 the Open Data Barometer, and the Affordability 

18 Drivers Index; 

19 (4) standardize inclusion of broadband con20 duit—fiber optic cables that support broadband or 

21 wireless facilities for broadband service—as part of 

22 highway or highway-comparable construction 

23 projects in developing countries, in consultation with 

24 telecommunications providers, unless such inclusion 

25 would create an undue burden, is not necessary 


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1 based on the availability of existing broadband infra2 structure, or a cost-benefit analysis determines that 

3 the cost outweighs the benefits; 

4 (5) provide technical assistance to the regu5 latory authorities in developing countries to remove 

6 unnecessary barriers to investment in otherwise com7 mercially viable projects and strengthen weak regu8 lations or develop new ones to support market 

9 growth and development; 

10 (6) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 

11 targets, including targets with gender-disaggregated 

12 metrics, to measure the effectiveness of efforts to 

13 promote internet access; and 

14 (7) promote and protect human rights online, 

15 such as the freedoms of speech, assembly, associa16 tion, religion, and belief, through resolutions, public 

17 statements, projects, and initiatives, and advocating 

18 that other member states of such bodies are held ac19 countable when major violations are uncovered. 

20 SEC. 9. PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK. 

21 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com23 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

24 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

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1 ment agencies, including the United States Agency for 

2 International Development and the Millennium Challenge 

3 Corporation, as well as international agencies funded by 

4 the United States Government for partnership with stake5 holders, that contain the following elements: 

6 (1) Methods for stakeholders to partner with 

7 such agencies in order to provide internet access or 

8 internet infrastructure in developing countries. 

9 (2) Methods of outreach to stakeholders to ex10 plore partnership opportunities for expanding inter11 net access or internet infrastructure, including co12 ordination with the private sector, when financing 

13 roads and telecommunications infrastructure. 

14 (3) Methods for early consultation with stake15 holders concerning projects in telecommunications 

16 and road construction to provide internet access or 

17 internet infrastructure. 

18 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION 

19 EFFORTS. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com22 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

24 a report on efforts to implement the policy specified in 

25 section 4 and a discussion of the plans and existing efforts 


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1 by the United States Government in developing countries 

2 to accomplish the following: 

3 (1) Develop a technical and regulatory road 

4 map for promoting internet access in developing 

5 countries and a path to implementing such road 

6 map. 

7 (2) Identify the regulatory barriers that may 

8 unduly impede internet access, including regulation 

9 of wireline broadband deployment or the infrastruc10 ture to augment wireless broadband deployment. 

11 (3) Strengthen and support development of reg12 ulations that incentivize market growth and sector 

13 development. 

14 (4) Encourage further public and private in15 vestment in internet infrastructure, including 

16 broadband networks and services. 

17 (5) Increase gender-equitable internet access 

18 and otherwise encourage or support internet deploy19 ment, competition, and adoption. 

20 (6) Improve the affordability of internet access. 

21 (7) Promote technology and cybersecurity ca22 pacity building efforts and consult technical experts 

23 for advice regarding options to accelerate the ad24 vancement of internet deployment, adoption, and 

25 usage. 


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1 (8) Promote internet freedom globally and in2 clude civil society and the private sector in the for3 mulation of policies, projects, and advocacy efforts 

4 to protect human rights online. 

5 (9) Promote and strengthen the multistake6 holder model of internet governance and actively 

7 participate in multistakeholder international fora, 

8 such as the Internet Governance Forum. 

9 SEC. 11. CYBERSPACE STRATEGY. 

10 The President should include in the next White 

11 House Cyberspace Strategy information relating to the 

12 following: 

13 (1) Methods to promote internet access in de14 veloping countries. 

15 (2) Methods to globally promote cybersecurity 

16 policy consistent with the National Institute of 

17 Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework for 

18 Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. 

19 (3) Methods to promote global internet freedom 

20 principles, such as the freedoms of expression, as21 sembly, association, and religion, while combating ef22 forts to impose restrictions on such freedoms. 

23 SEC. 12. DEFINITION. 

24 In this Act— 


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1 (1) BUILD ONCE POLICIES AND APPROACHES.— 

2 The term ‘‘build once policies and approaches’’ 

3 means policies or practices that minimize the num4 ber and scale of excavation and construction activi5 ties when installing telecommunications infrastruc6 ture in rights-of-way. 

7 (2) CYBERSPACE.—The term ‘‘cyberspace’’ 

8 means the interdependent network of information 

9 technology infrastructures, and includes the internet, 

10 telecommunications networks, computer systems, 

11 and embedded processors and controllers in critical 

12 industries, and includes the virtual environment of 

13 information and interactions between people. 

14 (3) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘stakeholders’’ 

15 means the private sector, the public sector, coopera16 tives, civil society, the technical community that de17 velops internet technologies, standards, implementa18 tion, operations, and applications, and other groups 

19 that are working to increase internet access or are 

20 impacted by the lack of internet access in their com21 munities. 

Æ 


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