I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5440 
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit assistance to 
foreign governments that engage in the use of foreign commercial 
spyware to target United States persons, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 
Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. STEWART, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, and Mr. 
CRAWFORD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit 
assistance to foreign governments that engage in the 
use of foreign commercial spyware to target United 
States persons, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Protecting Americans 
from Foreign Commercial Spyware Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOV-
ERNMENTS THAT ENGAGE IN THE USE OF 
FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SPYWARE TO TAR-
GET UNITED STATES PERSONS. 
Chapter 1 of part III (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended by adding 
at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 620N. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN 
GOVERNMENTS THAT ENGAGE IN THE USE 
OF FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SPYWARE TO TAR-
GET UNITED STATES PERSONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 
this section, no assistance may be provided under this Act 
to the central government of a country with respect to 
which the President makes a determination based on cred-
ible information and in accordance with subsection (c) that 
the government engages in the use of foreign commercial 
spyware to target United States persons. 
‘‘(b) WAIVER.—If the President certifies in writing 
to the appropriate congressional committees that extraor-
dinary circumstances or national security priorities exist 
warranting provision to a central government of a country 
of assistance otherwise prohibited pursuant to subsection 
(a), the United States may provide to such government 
such assistance. 
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‘‘(c) DETERMINATION.—In making a determination 
under subsection (a) with respect to the central govern-
ment of a country, the President shall give particular con-
sideration to whether the government— 
‘‘(1) has a record of acquiring commercial for-
eign commercial spyware; 
‘‘(2) has used foreign commercial spyware 
against its own citizens, particularly journalists, po-
litical opponents, or activists; and 
‘‘(3) has failed to undertake serious and sus-
tained efforts to combat the use of foreign commer-
cial spyware in undemocratic ways. 
‘‘(d) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition under subsection 
(a) does not apply to military assistance. 
‘‘(e) TERMINATION.—The prohibition under sub-
section (a) with respect to the central government of a 
country shall terminate 1 year after the President makes 
a determination that the government no longer engages 
in the use of foreign commercial spyware to target United 
States persons. 
‘‘(f) REPORT.—The President shall annually submit 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent 
Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate as part 
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of the presentation materials for assistance programs pro-
posed for each fiscal year, a full and complete classified 
report, prepared in consultation with the intelligence com-
munity’s classified annex, required under section 1102A 
of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3232a), 
with respect to governmental use of foreign commercial 
spyware to target United States persons in each country 
proposed as a recipient of assistance under this Act. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) FOREIGN
COMMERCIAL
SPYWARE.—The 
term ‘foreign commercial spyware’ means a tool (or 
set of tools) sold, leased, marketed, or otherwise pro-
vided as an end-to-end system originally developed 
or owned by a foreign spyware company that pro-
vides a purchaser remote access to information 
stored on or transiting through an electronic device 
connected to the internet, including end-to-end sys-
tems that— 
‘‘(A) allow malign actors to infect mobile 
and internet-connected devices with malware 
over both wireless internet and cellular data 
connections, including without any action re-
quired by the user of the device; 
‘‘(B) can record telephone calls and other 
audio; 
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‘‘(C) track the location of the device; or 
‘‘(D) access and retrieve information on 
the device, including text messages, files, e- 
mails, transcripts of chats, contacts, photos, 
and browsing history. 
‘‘(2) INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘intelligence community’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 
‘‘(3) UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The term 
‘United States person’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 560.314 of title 31, Code of Federal 
Regulations.’’. 
Æ 
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