I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4301 
To support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people by enhancing 
their ability to access the Internet and communications services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2009 
Mr. MORAN of Virginia (for himself, Mr. INGLIS, and Mr. DELAHUNT) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs 
A BILL 
To support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people 
by enhancing their ability to access the Internet and 
communications services. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iranian Digital Em-
powerment Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Government of Iran is engaged in a 
range of activities that interfere with and infringe 
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upon the right of the Iranian people to access inde-
pendent news and information and to exercise basic 
freedoms, in particular through electronic media. 
(2) On September 28, 2009, a consortium re-
portedly controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard 
Corps purchased a controlling interest in the Iranian 
Telecommunications Company. 
(3) On November 14, 2009, the Government of 
Iran announced the establishment of a special secu-
rity force to police opposition activities on the Inter-
net. 
(4) On numerous occasions, including most re-
cently ahead of student demonstrations on December 
7, 2009, the Government of Iran has restricted ac-
cess to Internet and telecommunications networks in 
order to limit popular dissent. 
(5) In the aftermath of the disputed June 2009 
Iranian presidential elections, the Iranian people uti-
lized Twitter, Facebook, and other personal commu-
nication technologies to organize demonstrations and 
related activities. 
(6) Citing the crucial role that Internet commu-
nications technologies were playing in post-election 
Iran, the Department of State requested Twitter 
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delay a planned maintenance so that Iranians could 
continue use of the service without interruption. 
(7) The United States has a vital interest in 
working to ensure that its policies do not uninten-
tionally aid the repressive policies of the Government 
of Iran or hinder the Iranian people’s basic rights 
and freedoms. 
(8) Current sanctions on Iran have had the un-
intended effect of stifling Iranians’ access to the 
Internet and related Internet technologies. 
(9) Microsoft and Google have ceased providing 
instant messaging services to Iranians, citing United 
States economic sanctions. 
(10) In a September 2009 response regarding 
the suspension of messaging services within Iran by 
Microsoft and Google, Director of the Department of 
the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control 
(OFAC), Adam Szubin, stated that, ‘‘Ensuring the 
flow and access to information available through the 
Internet and similar public sources is consistent with 
the policy interests of the United States Govern-
ment.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the United States— 
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(1) respects the sovereignty of the Iranian peo-
ple and the universal values of freedom of speech, 
freedom of the press, and the freedom to assemble; 
(2) supports the Iranian people seeking access 
to news, electronic communication, and other forms 
of information; 
(3) encourages the development and provision 
of technologies and services to the Iranian people 
that enable them to communicate with each other 
and the outside world; and 
(4) encourages companies, organizations, and 
individuals to enable large numbers of users to by-
pass censorship and surveillance technologies, for the 
purposes of promoting Iranians’ unfettered access to 
the Internet, which is a civil liberty that should be 
enjoyed by all people. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPORTS OF CERTAIN SOFT-
WARE AND RELATED SERVICES TO IRAN. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the export of software and related serv-
ices described in subsection (b) to Iran by United States 
persons may not be prohibited or otherwise restricted. 
(b) SOFTWARE
AND
RELATED
SERVICES
DE-
SCRIBED.—The software and related services referred to 
in subsection (a) are the following: 
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(1) Software and related services that allow pri-
vate Iranian citizens to circumvent online censorship 
and monitoring efforts imposed by the Government 
of Iran. 
(2) Software and related services that enable 
personal communication by the Iranian people. 
(c) EXCEPTION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not 
apply with respect to the export of software and re-
lated services described in subsection (b) to the Gov-
ernment of Iran. 
(2) DEFINITION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘‘Government of Iran’’ includes the gov-
ernment of any political subdivision of Iran, 
and any agency or instrumentality of the Gov-
ernment of Iran. 
(B) AGENCY OR INSTRUMENTALITY.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘agen-
cy or instrumentality of the Government of 
Iran’’ means an agency of instrumentality of a 
foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of 
title 28, United States Code, with each ref-
erence in such section to ‘‘a foreign state’’ 
deemed to be a reference to ‘‘Iran’’. 
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(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to the export of software and related services re-
ferred to in subsection (a) on or after the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
Æ 
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