I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 600 

To promote Internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy 

toward the Internet, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 23, 2017 

Mr. ROYCE of California (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 2017’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to— 

8 (1) encourage the efforts of developing coun9 tries to improve mobile and fixed access to the InterVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Jan 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H600.IH H600

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1 net in order to catalyze innovation, spur economic 

2 growth and job creation, improve health, education, 

3 and financial services, reduce poverty and gender in4 equality, mitigate disasters, promote democracy and 

5 good governance, and strengthen cybersecurity; 

6 (2) promote build once policies and approaches 

7 and the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet gov8 ernance; and 

9 (3) ensure the effective use of United States 

10 foreign assistance resources toward this end. 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress finds the following: 

13 (1) The number of Internet users worldwide 

14 has more than tripled from 1 billion to 3.2 billion 

15 since 2005, yet the growth rate of Internet access is 

16 slowing: An estimated 4.2 billion people, or 60 per17 cent of the world’s population, remain offline, an es18 timated 75 percent of the offline population lives in 

19 just 20 countries, and rural, female, elderly, illit20 erate, and low-income populations are being left be21 hind. 

22 (2) Studies suggest that women across the de23 veloping world are disproportionately affected by a 

24 digital gap, and that bringing an additional 600 mil25 lion women online would contribute $13 billion to 


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1 $18 billion to annual GDP across 144 developing 

2 countries. 

3 (3) Internet access in developing countries is 

4 most often hampered by a lack of infrastructure and 

5 a poor regulatory environment for investment. 

6 (4) Build once policies and approaches, which 

7 seek to coordinate public and private sector invest8 ments in roads and other critical infrastructure, can 

9 minimize the number and scale of excavation and 

10 construction activities when installing telecommuni11 cations infrastructure in rights-of-way, thereby re12 ducing installation costs for high-speed Internet net13 works and serving as a development best practice. 

14 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 

16 States to consult, partner, and coordinate with the govern17 ments of foreign countries, international organizations, re18 gional economic communities, businesses, civil society, and 

19 other stakeholders in a concerted effort to close the digital 

20 gap by promoting— 

21 (1) first-time Internet access to mobile or 

22 broadband Internet for at least 1.5 billion people in 

23 developing countries by 2020 in both urban and 

24 rural areas; 


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1 (2) Internet deployment and related coordina2 tion, capacity building, and build once policies and 

3 approaches in developing countries, including actions 

4 to encourage— 

5 (A) standardization of build once policies 

6 and approaches for the inclusion of broadband 

7 conduit in rights-of-way projects that are fund8 ed, co-funded, or partially financed by the 

9 United States or any international organization 

10 that includes the United States as a member, in 

11 consultation with telecommunications providers, 

12 unless a cost-benefit analysis determines that 

13 the cost of such approach outweighs the bene14 fits; 

15 (B) adoption and integration of build once 

16 policies and approaches into the development 

17 and investment strategies of national and local 

18 government agencies of developing countries 

19 and donor governments and organizations that 

20 will enhance coordination with the private sec21 tor for road building, pipe laying, and other 

22 major infrastructure projects; and 

23 (C) provision of increased financial support 

24 by international organizations, including 

25 through grants, loans, and technical assistance, 


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1 to expand information and communications ac2 cess and Internet connectivity; 

3 (3) policy changes that encourage first-time af4 fordable access to the Internet in developing coun5 tries, including actions to encourage— 

6 (A) integration of universal and gender-eq7 uitable Internet access goals, to be informed by 

8 the collection of related gender disaggregated 

9 data, and Internet tools into national develop10 ment plans and United States Government 

11 country-level development strategies; 

12 (B) reforms of competition laws and spec13 trum allocation processes that may impede the 

14 ability of companies to provide Internet serv15 ices; and 

16 (C) efforts to improve procurement proc17 esses to help attract and incentivize investment 

18 in Internet infrastructure; 

19 (4) the removal of tax and regulatory barriers 

20 to Internet access; 

21 (5) the use of the Internet to increase economic 

22 growth and trade, including— 

23 (A) policies and strategies to remove re24 strictions to e-commerce, cross-border informa25 tion flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 


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1 (B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 

2 enabled by access to technology; 

3 (6) use of the Internet to bolster democracy, 

4 government accountability, transparency, and human 

5 rights, including through the establishments of poli6 cies, initiatives, and investments that— 

7 (A) support the development of national 

8 Internet plans that are consistent with United 

9 States human rights goals, including freedom of 

10 expression, religion, assembly, and association; 

11 (B) expand online access to government in12 formation and services to enhance government 

13 accountability and service delivery, including for 

14 areas in which government may have limited 

15 presence; 

16 (C) advance the principles of responsible 

17 Internet governance, including commitments to 

18 maintain open and equitable access; and 

19 (D) support programs, research, and tech20 nologies that safeguard human rights and fun21 damental freedoms online, and enable political 

22 organizing and activism, free speech, and reli23 gious expression that are in compliance with 

24 international human rights standards; 


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1 (7) Internet access and inclusion into Internet 

2 policymaking for women, people with disabilities, mi3 norities, low-income and marginalized groups, and 

4 underserved populations; 

5 (8) cybersecurity and data protection, including 

6 international use of the National Institute of Stand7 ards and Technology (NIST) Framework for Im8 proving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, that 

9 are industry-led and globally recognized cybersecu10 rity standards and best practices; and 

11 (9) inter-agency coordination and cooperation 

12 across all executive branch agencies regarding the 

13 construction and promotion of Internet initiatives as 

14 a greater part of United States foreign policy. 

15 SEC. 5. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

16 In pursuing the policy described in section 4, the 

17 President should direct United States representatives to 

18 appropriate international bodies to use the influence of the 

19 United States, consistent with the broad development 

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

21 body— 

22 (1) commit to increase efforts and coordination 

23 to promote affordable and gender-equitable Internet 

24 access, in partnership with stakeholders and con25 sistent with host countries’ absorptive capacity; 


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1 (2) integrate affordable and gender-equitable 

2 Internet access data into existing economic and busi3 ness assessments, evaluations, and indexes such as 

4 the Millennium Challenge Corporation constraints 

5 analysis, the Doing Business Report, International 

6 Monetary Fund Article IV assessments and country 

7 reports, the Open Data Barometer, and the Afford8 ability Drivers Index; 

9 (3) standardize inclusion of broadband conduit 

10 as part of highway or comparable construction 

11 projects in developing countries, in consultation with 

12 telecommunications providers, unless such inclusion 

13 would create an undue burden, is not necessary 

14 based on the availability of existing broadband infra15 structure, or a cost-benefit analysis determines that 

16 the cost outweighs the benefits; 

17 (4) provide technical assistance to the regu18 latory authorities in developing countries to remove 

19 unnecessary barriers to investment in otherwise com20 mercially viable projects and strengthen weak regu21 lations or develop new regulations to support market 

22 growth and development; 

23 (5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 

24 targets, including targets with gender-disaggregated 


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1 data, to measure the effectiveness of efforts to pro2 mote Internet access; and 

3 (6) promote and protect human rights online, 

4 such as the freedoms of expression, religion, assem5 bly, and association, through resolutions, public 

6 statements, projects, and initiatives, and advocate 

7 that other member states of such bodies are held ac8 countable when major violations are uncovered. 

9 SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ORGANIZATION. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the Secretary of State should seek to enhance 

12 the efficiency and effectiveness of United States foreign 

13 assistance efforts to carry out the policies and objectives 

14 established by this Act, including by redesignating an ex15 isting Assistant Secretary position in the Department of 

16 State to be the Assistant Secretary for Cyberspace to lead 

17 the Department’s diplomatic cyberspace policy generally, 

18 including for cybersecurity, Internet access, Internet free19 dom, and to promote an open, secure, and reliable infor20 mation and communications technology infrastructure. 

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

22 of technical knowledge and expertise in the policymaking 

23 and diplomatic channels, the Secretary of State shall— 

24 (1) update existing training programs relevant 

25 to policy discussions; 


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1 (2) promote the recruitment of candidates with 

2 technical expertise into the Civil Service and the 

3 Foreign Service; and 

4 (3) work to improve inter-agency coordination 

5 and cooperation on cybersecurity and Internet initia6 tives. 

7 (c) OFFSET.—To offset any costs incurred by the De8 partment of State to carry out the designation of an As9 sistant Secretary for Cyberspace in accordance with sub10 section (a), the Secretary of State shall eliminate such po11 sitions within the Department of State, unless otherwise 

12 authorized or required by law, as the Secretary determines 

13 to be necessary to fully offset such costs. 

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

15 the Assistant Secretary position in the Department of 

16 State described in subsection (a) may not be construed 

17 as increasing the number of Assistant Secretary positions 

18 at the Department above the current level of 24 as author19 ized in section 1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Au20 thorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)). 

21 SEC. 7. USAID. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

23 of the United States Agency for International Develop24 ment should— 


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1 (1) integrate efforts to expand Internet access, 

2 develop appropriate technologies, and enhance digital 

3 literacy into the education, development, and eco4 nomic growth programs of the agency, where appro5 priate; 

6 (2) expand the utilization of information and 

7 communications technologies in humanitarian aid 

8 and disaster relief responses and United States oper9 ations involving stabilization and security to improve 

10 donor coordination, reduce duplication and waste, 

11 capture and share lessons learned, and augment dis12 aster preparedness and risk mitigation strategies; 

13 and 

14 (3) establish and promote guidelines for the 

15 protection of personal information of individuals 

16 served by humanitarian, disaster, and development 

17 programs implemented directly through the United 

18 States Government, through contracts funded by the 

19 United States Government, and by international or20 ganizations. 

21 SEC. 8. PEACE CORPS. 

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

23 is amended by— 

24 (1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

25 (e); and 


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1 (2) adding at the end the following new sub2 sections: 

3 ‘‘(f) It is the sense of Congress that access to tech4 nology can transform agriculture, community economic de5 velopment, education, environment, health, and youth de6 velopment which are the sectors in which Peace Corps cur7 rently develops positions for Volunteers. 

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

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

10 the Peace Corps should develop positions for Volunteers 

11 that are focused on leveraging technology for development, 

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

13 SEC. 9. PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK. 

14 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com16 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

17 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

18 plans to promote partnerships by United States develop19 ment agencies, including the United States Agency for 

20 International Development and the Millennium Challenge 

21 Corporation, and international agencies funded by the 

22 United States Government with the private sector and 

23 other stakeholders to expand affordable and gender equi24 table access to the Internet in developing countries, includ25 ing the following elements: 


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1 (1) Methods for stakeholders to partner with 

2 such agencies in order to provide Internet access or 

3 Internet infrastructure in developing countries. 

4 (2) Methods of outreach to stakeholders to ex5 plore partnership opportunities for expanding Inter6 net access or Internet infrastructure, including co7 ordination with the private sector, when financing 

8 roads and telecommunications infrastructure. 

9 (3) Methods for early consultation with stake10 holders concerning projects in telecommunications 

11 and road construction to provide Internet access or 

12 Internet infrastructure. 

13 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION 

14 EFFORTS. 

15 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com17 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

18 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

19 a report on efforts to implement the policies specified in 

20 this Act and a discussion of the plans and existing efforts 

21 by the United States Government in developing countries 

22 to accomplish the following: 

23 (1) Developing a technical and regulatory road 

24 map for promoting Internet access in developing 


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1 countries and a path to implementing such road 

2 map. 

3 (2) Identifying the regulatory barriers that may 

4 unduly impede Internet access, including regulation 

5 of wireline broadband deployment or the infrastruc6 ture to augment wireless broadband deployment. 

7 (3) Strengthening and supporting development 

8 of regulations that incentivize market growth and 

9 sector development. 

10 (4) Encouraging further public and private in11 vestment in Internet infrastructure, including 

12 broadband networks and services. 

13 (5) Increasing gender-equitable Internet access 

14 and otherwise encourage or support Internet deploy15 ment, competition, and adoption. 

16 (6) Improving the affordability of Internet ac17 cess. 

18 (7) Promoting technology and cybersecurity ca19 pacity building efforts and consult technical experts 

20 for advice regarding options to accelerate the ad21 vancement of Internet deployment, adoption, and 

22 usage. 

23 (8) Promoting Internet freedom globally and in24 clude civil society and the private sector in the forVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Jan 23, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H600.IH H600

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1 mulation of policies, projects, and advocacy efforts 

2 to protect human rights online. 

3 (9) Promoting and strengthening the multi4 stakeholder model of Internet governance and ac5 tively participate in multi-stakeholder international 

6 fora, such as the Internet Governance Forum. 

7 (10) Advancing a strategy to promote— 

8 (A) global cybersecurity policy consistent 

9 with the National Institute of Standards and 

10 Technology (NIST) Framework for Improving 

11 Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity; 

12 (B) global Internet freedom principles, 

13 such as the freedoms of expression, religion, as14 sembly, and association, while combating efforts 

15 to impose restrictions on such freedoms; and 

16 (C) improved inter-agency coordination 

17 and cooperation on cybersecurity and Internet 

18 initiatives. 

19 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ 

22 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv23 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 

24 video, data, graphics, or a combination thereof. 


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1 (2) BROADBAND CONDUIT.—The term 

2 ‘‘broadband conduit’’ means a conduit for fiber optic 

3 cables that support broadband or wireless facilities 

4 for broadband service. 

5 (3) BUILD ONCE POLICIES AND APPROACHES.— 

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

7 means policies or practices that minimize the num8 ber and scale of excavation and construction activi9 ties when installing telecommunications infrastruc10 ture in rights-of-way. 

11 (4) CYBERSPACE.—The term ‘‘cyberspace’’ 

12 means the interdependent network of information 

13 technology infrastructures, and includes the Inter14 net, telecommunications networks, computer sys15 tems, and embedded processors and controllers in 

16 critical industries, and includes the virtual environ17 ment of information and interactions between peo18 ple. 

19 (5) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘stakeholders’’ 

20 means the private sector, the public sector, coopera21 tives, civil society, the technical community that de22 velops Internet technologies, standards, implementa23 tion, operations, and applications, and other groups 

24 that are working to increase Internet access or are 


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1 impacted by the lack of Internet access in their com2 munities. 

Æ 


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