IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 768 

Calling on African governments to protect and promote human rights through 

internet freedom and digital integration for all citizens across the continent of Africa. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Ms. BASS (for herself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on African governments to protect and promote 

human rights through internet freedom and digital integration for all citizens across the continent of Africa. 

Whereas access to information and freedom of expression are 

pillars of an open, free, and democratic society; 

Whereas open and secure access to the internet enables the 

exercise of human rights and freedom of expression, allowing people to connect, access information, and participate in a global society; 

Whereas according to Access Now, there were 21 instances 

of partial or total internet shutdowns in Africa in 2018, 

compared with only 4 in 2016; 

Whereas governments, including those of Chad, Cameroon, 

Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, have restricted 


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•HRES 768 IH 

access to the internet and disrupted networks, online applications, and services to censor and interfere with the 

flow of information during politically sensitive moments, 

including elections, political protests, and mass demonstrations, when unfettered journalism, public oversight, 

and political participation are crucial to bolster democratic processes and the rule of law; 

Whereas governments often attempt to justify partial or total 

internet shutdowns for purposes of security or to stop the 

spread of false information; 

Whereas the frequency of internet shutdowns has increased 

across Africa, levying broad economic costs and directly 

violating citizens rights to freedom of expression and access to information; 

Whereas African whistleblowers, journalists, bloggers, and 

other media workers often lack legal protection and suffer harassment and detention at the hands of government 

authorities, often facilitated by invasive and unauthorized 

surveillance, with the encouragement, technical expertise, 

and financial support of foreign entities and governments; 

Whereas some African governments have introduced taxes to 

discourage citizens from sharing and accessing information in the digital space, and have imposed laws and regulations that often target journalists, bloggers, activists, 

and others, banning speech and discouraging expression 

in the digital space; 

Whereas those operating independent news websites and 

blogs are obstructed through blocking and censorship, 

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•HRES 768 IH 

ures that effectively limit their audience and their livelihoods; 

Whereas many African governments lack robust data protection and privacy laws, and the systems to implement such 

laws, leaving the privacy of citizens exposed and susceptible to infringement; 

Whereas the Communist government in China, through the 

desire to build a ‘‘digital Silk Road’’, has increased cyber 

activity in Africa through telecommunications contracts 

and fiber optic networks which can expose individuals to 

greater monitoring and surveillance, and has exported 

technology and training to authoritarian officials that 

have made it easier to restrict internet access in many 

African countries; 

Whereas Huawei Technologies has reportedly sold products 

and services to African governments that have been used 

to support spying on political opponents; and 

Whereas Russia has been testing new disinformation techniques and tactics through a series of online networks 

linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch indicted 

by the United States for meddling in the United States 

Presidential election in 2016, in African countries that 

include Sudan, Cameroon, Libya, and Mozambique: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly condemns the restriction or disrup3 tion of the internet through methods including net4 work shutdowns, disruptions, use of ‘‘kill switches’’, 

5 bandwidth throttling, high taxes, and the blocking of 

6 applications and services across Africa, and any efVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:40 Dec 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR768.IH HR768

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1 forts by foreign governments to facilitate such activ2 ity; 

3 (2) urges African governments to— 

4 (A) promote inclusive and meaningful par5 ticipation by all stakeholders in the development 

6 of policies on telecommunications, internet gov7 ernance, information and communications tech8 nologies, and infrastructure; 

9 (B) prevent the use of broad and invasive 

10 surveillance technologies that violate privacy 

11 and discourage the freedom of expression of all 

12 users, particularly journalists, bloggers, and 

13 their sources, and to ensure accountability for 

14 crimes against them; 

15 (C) actively pursue laws and policies that 

16 protect and promote human rights online and 

17 offline and review laws that criminalize free 

18 speech that are used to harass and prosecute 

19 those who offer dissenting views and informa20 tion; 

21 (D) resist new contracts with authoritarian 

22 states, like China, and avoid digital governance 

23 models that enable technoauthoritarianism and 

24 invasive surveillance capabilities that undermine 


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1 human rights and restrict fundamental free2 doms; and 

3 (E) work closely with technology compa4 nies and social media services to prevent or 

5 take down disinformation, including 

6 disinformation disseminated by Russia and 

7 other actors; 

8 (3) urges telecommunications providers and 

9 internet platforms to employ legal, operational, and 

10 technical measures to promote and facilitate the ex11 ercise of human rights online, and disclose requests 

12 from governments or other parties to hand over user 

13 data and to disrupt networks, and their responses 

14 thereto; 

15 (4) urges businesses operating in Africa to fa16 cilitate open and secure access to the internet, and 

17 work with stakeholders to prevent, mitigate, and 

18 remedy harms from internet shutdowns and other 

19 disruptions to the free flow of information online; 

20 and 

21 (5) urges businesses operating in Africa to af22 firm the United Nations Guiding Principles on Busi23 ness and Human Rights, and adhere to best prac24 tices, scrutinizing government or other third-party 

25 requests to interfere with networks, applications, 


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1 services, and personal data for any potential human 

2 rights impacts. 

Æ 


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