I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1389 
To prevent United States businesses from cooperating with repressive govern-
ments in transforming the Internet into a tool of censorship and surveil-
lance, to fulfill the responsibility of the United States Government to 
promote freedom of expression on the Internet, to restore public con-
fidence in the integrity of United States businesses, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2011 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. WOLF, and Mr. MCCOTTER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To prevent United States businesses from cooperating with 
repressive governments in transforming the Internet into 
a tool of censorship and surveillance, to fulfill the respon-
sibility of the United States Government to promote free-
dom of expression on the Internet, to restore public 
confidence in the integrity of United States businesses, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Global Online Freedom Act of 2011’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
Sec. 4. Severability. 
TITLE I—PROMOTION OF GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM 
Sec. 101. Statement of policy. 
Sec. 102. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 103. Annual country reports on human rights practices. 
Sec. 104. Office of Global Internet Freedom. 
Sec. 105. Annual designation of Internet-restricting countries; report. 
TITLE II—MINIMUM CORPORATE STANDARDS FOR ONLINE 
FREEDOM 
Sec. 201. Protection of personally identifiable information. 
Sec. 202. Integrity of personally identifiable information. 
Sec. 203. Transparency regarding search engine filtering. 
Sec. 204. Transparency regarding Internet censorship. 
Sec. 205. Protection of United States-supported online content. 
Sec. 206. Penalties. 
Sec. 207. Presidential waiver. 
TITLE III—EXPORT CONTROLS FOR INTERNET–RESTRICTING 
COUNTRIES 
Sec. 301. Feasibility study on establishment of export controls. 
Sec. 302. Report. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) A number of repressive foreign governments 
block, restrict, otherwise control, and monitor the 
Internet, effectively transforming the Internet into a 
tool of censorship and surveillance, in contravention 
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
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Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights. 
(2) A number of United States businesses have 
enabled the Internet censorship and surveillance of 
repressive governments by selling these governments 
or their agents technology or training. 
(3) A number of United States businesses have 
cooperated with the Internet censorship and surveil-
lance of repressive governments by providing such 
governments with information about cyber-dissidents 
who were the company’s clients or were using the 
companies’ products, and this has led to the arrest 
and imprisonment of the dissidents. 
(4) The actions of a number of United States 
businesses in cooperating with the efforts of repres-
sive governments to transform the Internet into a 
tool of censorship and surveillance have caused 
Internet users in the United States and in foreign 
countries to lose confidence in the integrity of 
United States businesses. 
(5) Information and communication technology 
companies are to be commended for cooperating with 
civil society organizations, academics, and investors 
in founding the Global Network Initiative, in order 
to provide direction and guidance to the Information 
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and Communications Technology companies and oth-
ers in protecting the free expression and privacy of 
Internet users. 
(6) The United States Government has a re-
sponsibility to protect freedom of expression on the 
Internet, to prevent United States businesses from 
directly and materially cooperating in human rights 
abuses perpetrated by repressive foreign govern-
ments, and to restore public confidence in the integ-
rity of United States business. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science and Transpor-
tation of the Senate. 
(2) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND OTHER 
TITLE 18 DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘electronic com-
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munication’’, ‘‘electronic communications system’’, 
‘‘electronic storage’’, and ‘‘contents’’ have the mean-
ings given such terms in section 2510 of title 18, 
United States Code. 
(3) FOREIGN OFFICIAL.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘foreign offi-
cial’’ means— 
(i) any officer or employee of a for-
eign government or of any department, 
agency, state-owned enterprise, or instru-
mentality thereof; or 
(ii) any person acting in an official ca-
pacity for or on behalf of, or acting under 
color of law with the knowledge of, any 
such government or such department, 
agency, state-owned enterprise, or instru-
mentality. 
(B) 
STATE-OWNED
ENTERPRISE.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘state- 
owned enterprise’’ means a commercial entity in 
which a foreign government owns or controls, 
directly or indirectly, more than 50 percent of 
the outstanding capital stock or other beneficial 
interest in such commercial entity. 
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(4) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 231(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)). 
(5) INTERNET-RESTRICTING
COUNTRY.—The 
term ‘‘Internet-restricting country’’ means a country 
designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to 
section 105(a) of this Act. 
(6) INTERNET
COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES.— 
The term ‘‘Internet communications services’’— 
(A) means a method for providing commu-
nications services via the Internet, including 
electronic mail, Internet telephony, online chat, 
online text messaging, Internet bulletin boards, 
or Web pages; and 
(B)(i) includes providing Internet access; 
but 
(ii) does not include activities con-
ducted by a financial institution (as such 
term is defined in section 5312 of title 31, 
United States Code) that are financial in 
nature, even if such activities are con-
ducted using the Internet. 
(7) INTERNET CONTENT HOSTING SERVICE.— 
The terms ‘‘Internet content hosting service’’ and 
‘‘content hosting service’’ mean a service that— 
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(A) stores, through electromagnetic or 
other means, electronic data, such as the con-
tent of Web pages, electronic mail, documents, 
images, audio and video files, online discussion 
boards, or Web logs; and 
(B) makes such data available via the 
Internet. 
(8) INTERNET JAMMING.—The term ‘‘Internet 
jamming’’ means jamming, censoring, blocking, 
monitoring, or restricting access to the Internet, or 
to content made available via the Internet, by using 
technologies such as firewalls, filters, and ‘‘black 
boxes’’. 
(9) INTERNET
SEARCH
ENGINE.—The term 
‘‘Internet search engine’’ or ‘‘search engine’’ means 
a service made available via the Internet that, on the 
basis of a query consisting of terms, concepts, ques-
tions, or other data input by a user, searches infor-
mation available on the Internet and returns to the 
user a means, such as a hyperlinked list of Uniform 
Resource 
Identifiers, 
of 
locating, 
viewing, 
or 
downloading information or data available on the 
Internet relating to such query. 
(10) LEGITIMATE FOREIGN LAW ENFORCEMENT 
PURPOSES.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘legitimate 
foreign law enforcement purpose’’ means for the 
purpose of enforcement, investigation, or pros-
ecution by a foreign official based on a publicly 
promulgated law of reasonable specificity that 
proximately relates to the protection or pro-
motion of the health, safety, or morals of the 
citizens of the jurisdiction of such official. 
(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For pur-
poses of this Act, the control, suppression, or 
punishment of peaceful expression of political, 
religious, or ideological opinion or belief shall 
not be construed to constitute a legitimate for-
eign law enforcement purpose. Among expres-
sion that should be construed to be protected 
against control, suppression, or punishment 
when evaluating a foreign government’s claim 
of a legitimate foreign law enforcement purpose 
is expression protected by article 19 of the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights. 
(11) LOCATE.—The term ‘‘locate’’ includes, 
with respect to an electronic communication— 
(A) computer storage or processing by fa-
cilities of a ‘‘remote computing service’’, as 
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such term is defined in section 2711 of title 18, 
United States Code; 
(B) electronic storage by any electronic or 
computer server or facility of an electronic com-
munications system; and 
(C) any other storage by any electronic or 
computer server or facility. 
(12) PERSONALLY
IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘‘personally identifiable informa-
tion’’— 
(A) includes any information described in 
section 2703(c)(2) of title 18, United States 
Code; and 
(B) does not include— 
(i) any traffic data; or 
(ii) any record of aggregate data 
which cannot be used to identify particular 
persons. 
(13) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION 
USED TO ESTABLISH OR MAINTAIN AN ACCOUNT.— 
The term ‘‘personally identifiable information used 
to establish or maintain an account’’ does not in-
clude— 
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(A) information collected in the course of 
establishing or operating accounts for commu-
nications within a company; 
(B) information collected in the course of 
the purchase, sale, shipment, or distribution of 
goods, including transactions for goods or serv-
ices utilizing the Internet, other than commu-
nication services on which a political, religious, 
or ideological opinion or belief may be ex-
pressed; 
(C) personally identifiable information vol-
unteered in an electronic communication, other 
than in a communication made in the course of 
establishing an account for Internet commu-
nications services, such as an electronic mail 
signature line or an electronic mail, on-line 
video, or Web page in which the author volun-
tarily provides personally identifiable informa-
tion; or 
(D) with respect to the collection of per-
sonally identifiable information required in 
order to provide Internet communications serv-
ices, information that is located in an Internet- 
restricting country temporarily at the time of 
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establishing an account for Internet commu-
nications services, if— 
(i) a system exists that promptly 
transfers such information to another loca-
tion outside of any Internet-restricting 
country; 
(ii) no duplicates of such information 
remain in any Internet-restricting country 
after such transfer; and 
(iii) no transfers occur that violate 
section 202. 
(14) SUBSTANTIAL
RESTRICTIONS
ON
INTER-
NET FREEDOM.—The term ‘‘substantial restrictions 
on Internet freedom’’ means actions that restrict or 
punish the free availability of information via the 
Internet for reasons other than legitimate foreign 
law enforcement purposes, including— 
(A) deliberately blocking, filtering, or cen-
soring information available via the Internet 
based on the expression of political, religious, or 
ideological opinion or belief, including by elec-
tronic mail; or 
(B) persecuting, prosecuting, or otherwise 
punishing an individual or group for posting or 
transmitting peaceful political, religious, or ide-
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ological opinion or belief via the Internet, in-
cluding by electronic mail. 
(15) TRAFFIC DATA.—The term ‘‘traffic data’’ 
means, with respect to an electronic communication, 
any information contained in or relating to such 
communication that is processed for the purpose of 
the conveyance of the communication by an elec-
tronic communications system or for the billing 
thereof, including any Internet Protocol address or 
other means of identifying a location within an elec-
tronic communications system, but that cannot be 
used to identify a particular person. Such term can-
not be used to include the contents of any electronic 
communication. 
(16) UNITED
STATES
BUSINESS.—The term 
‘‘United States business’’ means— 
(A) any corporation, partnership, associa-
tion, joint-stock company, business trust, unin-
corporated organization, or sole proprietorship 
that— 
(i) has its principal place of business 
in the United States; or 
(ii) is organized under the laws of a 
State of the United States or a territory, 
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possession, or commonwealth of the United 
States; and 
(B) any issuer of a security registered pur-
suant to section 12 of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l). 
(17) UNITED STATES-SUPPORTED CONTENT.— 
The term ‘‘United States-supported content’’ means 
content that is created or developed, in whole or in 
part, by a United States-supported information enti-
ty. 
(18) UNITED
STATES-SUPPORTED
INFORMA-
TION ENTITY.—The term ‘‘United States-supported 
information entity’’ means— 
(A) any authority of the Government of 
the United States; and 
(B) any entity that— 
(i) receives grants from the Broad-
casting Board of Governors to carry out 
international broadcasting activities in ac-
cordance with the United States Inter-
national Broadcasting Act of 1994 (title 
III of Public Law 103–236; 22 U.S.C. 
6201 et seq.); 
(ii) exists within the Broadcasting 
Board of Governors and carries out non-
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military international broadcasting activi-
ties supported by the Government of the 
United States in accordance with such Act; 
or 
(iii) receives grants or other similar 
funding from the Government of the 
United States to carry out any information 
dissemination activities. 
(19) UNITED STATES-SUPPORTED WEB SITE.— 
The term ‘‘United States-supported Web site’’ 
means a location on the World Wide Web that is 
owned or managed by, or is registered to, a United 
States-supported information entity. 
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 
provision to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, 
the remainder of this Act, and the application of such pro-
vision to other persons not similarly situated or to other 
circumstances, shall not be affected by such invalidation. 
TITLE I—PROMOTION OF 
GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM 
SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It shall be the policy of the United States— 
(1) to promote as a fundamental component of 
United States foreign policy the right of every indi-
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vidual to freedom of opinion and expression, includ-
ing the right to hold opinions, and to seek, receive, 
and impart information and ideas through any 
media and regardless of frontiers, without inter-
ference; 
(2) to use all appropriate instruments of United 
States influence, including diplomacy, trade policy, 
and export controls, to support, promote, and 
strengthen principles, practices, and values that pro-
mote the free flow of information without inter-
ference or discrimination, including through the 
Internet and other electronic media; and 
(3) to deter any United States business from 
cooperating with officials of Internet-restricting 
countries in effecting the political censorship of on-
line content. 
SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) the President should, through bilateral, and 
where appropriate, multilateral activities, seek to ob-
tain the agreement of other countries to promote the 
goals and objectives of this Act and to protect Inter-
net freedom; and 
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(2) to the extent that a United States business 
empowers or assists an authoritarian foreign govern-
ment in its efforts— 
(A) to restrict online access to the Web 
sites of the Voice of America, Radio Free Eu-
rope/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Al-Hurra, 
Radio Sawa, Radio Farda, Radio Marti, TV 
Marti, or other United States-supported Web 
sites and online access to United States Govern-
ment reports such as the Annual Country Re-
ports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual 
Reports on International Religious Freedom, 
and the Annual Trafficking in Human Persons 
Reports, or 
(B) to identify individual Internet users, 
such business is working contrary to the foreign pol-
icy interests of the United States and is undercut-
ting United States taxpayer-funded efforts to pro-
mote freedom of information for all people, including 
those in undemocratic and repressive societies. 
SEC. 103. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
PRACTICES. 
(a) REPORT
RELATING
TO
ECONOMIC
ASSIST-
ANCE.—Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
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1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(g)(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall 
include an assessment of the freedom of electronic infor-
mation in each foreign country. Such assessment shall 
consist of the following: 
‘‘(A) An assessment of the general extent 
to which Internet access is available to and 
used by citizens in that country. 
‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which 
government authorities in that country attempt 
to filter, censor, or otherwise block Internet 
content, as well as a description of the means 
by which they attempt to block such content. 
‘‘(C) A description of known instances in 
which government authorities in that country 
have persecuted, prosecuted, or otherwise pun-
ished an individual or group for the peaceful ex-
pression of political, religious, or ideological 
opinion or belief via the Internet, including elec-
tronic mail. 
‘‘(D) A description of known instances in 
which government authorities in that country 
have sought to collect, request, obtain, or dis-
close the personally identifiable information of a 
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person in connection with that person’s peaceful 
expression of political, religious, or ideological 
opinion or belief, including without limitation 
communication that would be protected by the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights. 
‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments 
for the purposes of paragraph (1), United States 
diplomatic mission personnel shall consult with 
human rights organizations, technology and Internet 
companies, and other appropriate nongovernmental 
organizations.’’. 
(b) REPORT RELATING TO SECURITY ASSISTANCE.— 
Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2304) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(j)(1) The report required by subsection (b) shall 
include an assessment of the freedom of electronic infor-
mation in each foreign country. Such assessment shall 
consist of the following: 
‘‘(A) An assessment of the general extent 
to which Internet access is available to and 
used by citizens in that country. 
‘‘(B) An assessment of the extent to which 
government authorities in that country attempt 
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to filter, censor, or otherwise block Internet 
content, as well as a description of the means 
by which they attempt to block such content. 
‘‘(C) A description of known instances in 
which government authorities in that country 
have persecuted, prosecuted, or otherwise pun-
ished an individual or group for the peaceful ex-
pression of political, religious, or ideological 
opinion or belief via the Internet, including elec-
tronic mail. 
‘‘(D) A description of known instances in 
which government authorities in that country 
have sought to collect, request, obtain, or dis-
close the personally identifiable information of a 
person in connection with that person’s commu-
nication of ideas, facts, or views where such 
communication would be protected by the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
‘‘(2) In compiling data and making assessments 
for the purposes of paragraph (1), United States 
diplomatic mission personnel shall consult with 
human rights organizations, technology and Internet 
companies, and other appropriate nongovernmental 
organizations.’’. 
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SEC. 104. OFFICE OF GLOBAL INTERNET FREEDOM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Department of State the Office of Global Internet Free-
dom (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). The head 
of the Office shall be a Director, who shall be appointed 
by the Secretary of State. 
(b) DUTIES.—In addition to such other responsibil-
ities as the President may assign, the Office shall— 
(1) serve as the focal point for interagency ef-
forts to protect and promote abroad freedom of elec-
tronic information related to expression of political, 
religious, or ideological opinion or belief; 
(2) develop and ensure the implementation of a 
global strategy and programs to combat state-spon-
sored and state-directed Internet jamming of com-
munications that express political, religious, or ideo-
logical opinion or belief and to combat the intimida-
tion and persecution by foreign governments of their 
citizens who use the Internet for the peaceful expres-
sion of such opinion or belief; 
(3) provide assistance to the Secretary of State 
in connection with the annual designation of Inter-
net-restricting countries required by section 105(a) 
of this Act; 
(4) beginning not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act— 
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(A) identify key words, terms, and phrases 
relating to human rights, democracy, religious 
free exercise, and peaceful political dissent, both 
in general and as specifically related to the par-
ticular context and circumstances of each Inter-
net-restricting country; and 
(B) maintain, update, and make publicly 
available on a regular basis the key words, 
terms, and phrases identified pursuant to sub-
paragraph (A); 
(5) establish mechanisms to collect the informa-
tion required to be reported by sections 116(g) and 
502B(j) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as 
added by section 103 of this Act) and sections 203 
and 204 of this Act; 
(6) establish a regularized consultative process 
with regard to the control, suppression, or punish-
ment of peaceful expression of political, religious, or 
ideological opinion or belief with appropriate tech-
nology companies involved in providing, maintaining, 
or servicing the Internet, human rights organiza-
tions, academic experts, and others to develop a vol-
untary code of minimum corporate standards related 
to Internet freedom, and to consult with such com-
panies, organizations, experts, and others regarding 
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new technologies and the implementation of appro-
priate policies relating to such technologies; and 
(7) advise the appropriate congressional com-
mittees of legislative action that may be necessary to 
keep the provisions of this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act relevant to changing technologies. 
(c) COOPERATION
OF OTHER FEDERAL DEPART-
MENTS AND AGENCIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each depart-
ment and agency of the United States, including the 
Department of Commerce, the Office of the United 
States Trade Representative, the Department of 
Justice, the International Broadcasting Bureau, and 
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 
shall, as appropriate, cooperate with and assist the 
Office of Global Internet Freedom in the implemen-
tation of its duties, including the strategy developed 
by the Office under subsection (b)(2). 
(2) COORDINATION
WITH
DEPARTMENT
OF 
COMMERCE.—Notwithstanding the requirements of 
paragraph (1), the head of the Office shall fully co-
ordinate its activities with those of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration 
of the Department of Commerce and the Assistant 
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Secretary of Commerce for Communications and In-
formation. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Office to carry 
out this section such sums as may be necessary for each 
of the fiscal years 2012 and 2013. 
(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 
supercede the requirements of the National Telecommuni-
cations and Information Administration Organization Act 
(47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) or affect the responsibilities of 
the National Telecommunications and Information Ad-
ministration of the Department of Commerce and the As-
sistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information established by such Act and amendments to 
such Act. 
SEC. 105. ANNUAL DESIGNATION OF INTERNET-RESTRICT-
ING COUNTRIES; REPORT. 
(a) DESIGNATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an-
nually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall des-
ignate Internet-restricting countries for purposes of 
this Act. 
(2) STANDARD.—A foreign country shall be 
designated as an Internet-restricting country if the 
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Secretary of State, after consultation with the Sec-
retary of Commerce, determines, based on the review 
of the evidence and any ongoing multilateral discus-
sions on freedom of speech and the right to privacy, 
that the government of the country is directly or in-
directly responsible for a systematic pattern of sub-
stantial restrictions on Internet freedom during any 
part of the preceding 1-year period. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an-
nually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall trans-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report that contains the following: 
(A) The name of each foreign country that 
at the time of the transmission of the report is 
designated as an Internet-restricting country 
under subsection (a). 
(B) An identification of each government 
agency and quasi-government organization re-
sponsible for the substantial restrictions on 
Internet freedom in each foreign country des-
ignated as an Internet-restricting country under 
subsection (a). 
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(C) A description of efforts by the United 
States to counter the substantial restrictions on 
Internet freedom referred to in subparagraph 
(B). 
(D) A description of the evidence used by 
the Secretary of State to make the determina-
tions under subsection (a)(2) and any ongoing 
multilateral discussions on freedom of speech 
and the right to privacy referred to in such sub-
section. 
(2) FORM.—The information required by para-
graph (1)(C) of the report may be provided in a 
classified form if necessary. 
(3) INTERNET AVAILABILITY.—All unclassified 
portions of the report shall be made publicly avail-
able on the Internet Web site of the Department of 
State. 
TITLE II—MINIMUM CORPORATE 
STANDARDS 
FOR 
ONLINE 
FREEDOM 
SEC. 201. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN-
FORMATION. 
(a) LOCATION OF INFORMATION IN INTERNET-RE-
STRICTING COUNTRIES.—A United States business that 
creates, provides, or offers to the public for commercial 
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purposes an Internet search engine or that offers to the 
public for commercial purposes Internet communications 
services or Internet content hosting services may not lo-
cate, within an Internet-restricting country, any electronic 
communication containing personally identifiable informa-
tion used to establish or maintain an account for Internet 
communications services. 
(b) WAIVER.—Subject to subsection (c), the Sec-
retary of State may waive the application of any of the 
provisions of subsection (a) with respect to a United 
States business or an Internet-restricting country, if the 
Secretary of State determines and so reports to the appro-
priate congressional committees that— 
(1) the government of the country has ceased 
the activities that gave rise to the designation of the 
country as an Internet-restricting country; 
(2) the laws of the Internet-restricting country 
require the United States business that creates, pro-
vides, or offers to the public for commercial purposes 
an Internet search engine or that offers to the public 
for commercial purposes Internet communications 
services or Internet content hosting services to locate 
within the country electronic communications con-
taining personally identifiable information used to 
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establish or maintain an account for Internet com-
munications services; or 
(3) the national interest of the United States 
requires the exercise of such waiver authority. 
(c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 
the date of the exercise of a waiver under subsection (b), 
the Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate con-
gressional committees of the waiver or the intention to ex-
ercise the waiver, together with a detailed explanation of 
the reason for the waiver. 
SEC. 202. INTEGRITY OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN-
FORMATION. 
(a) USER PROTECTION.—If a United States business 
collects or obtains personally identifiable information 
through the provision of products or services on the Inter-
net, such business shall— 
(1) devise and maintain a system of internal 
policies and procedures which set out how the 
United States business will assess and respond to re-
quests by Internet-restricting countries for disclo-
sure of personally identifiable information, sufficient 
to provide reasonable assurances that— 
(A) responses to such requests are exe-
cuted in accordance with the specific authoriza-
tion of the United States business; and 
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(B) responses to such requests are docu-
mented to include the exact words or nature of 
each such request, the information requested, 
circumstances relevant to determining how to 
respond to the request, communications with of-
ficials of the Internet-restricting country, and 
communications with the United States Govern-
ment regarding the request or the response to 
the request; and 
(2) make and keep records that, in reasonable 
detail, accurately document all requests by Internet- 
restricting countries for disclosure of personally 
identifiable information, as well as how the United 
States business has assessed and responded to such 
requests, including the exact words or nature of each 
such request, the information requested, cir-
cumstances relevant to determining how to respond 
to the request, and communications with officials of 
the Internet-restricting country and communications 
with the United States Government regarding the 
request or the response to the request. 
(b) NOTIFICATION
OF UNITED STATES GOVERN-
MENT OF INTERNAL POLICIES AND RECORD-KEEPING.— 
Within 90 days after a foreign country is designated as 
an Internet-restricting country, any United States busi-
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ness that collects or obtains personally identifiable infor-
mation through the provision of products or services on 
the Internet in the Internet-restricting country shall trans-
mit to the Director of the Office of Global Internet Free-
dom a full account of its internal policies and procedures 
and its record-keeping practices instituted and undertaken 
in compliance with subsection (a). 
(c) NOTIFICATION OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 
OF REQUEST FOR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA-
TION
BY
INTERNET-RESTRICTING
COUNTRY.—If an 
Internet-restricting country requests personally identifi-
able information from a United States business that col-
lects or obtains personally identifiable information through 
the provision of products or services on the Internet in 
that Internet-restricting country, that United States busi-
ness shall promptly, and before responding to the request, 
inform the Director of the Office of Global Internet Free-
dom and the Attorney General of the exact words or na-
ture of the request, the circumstances relevant to deter-
mining how to respond to the request, and relevant com-
munications with officials of the Internet-restricting coun-
try. 
(d) ORDER NOT TO COMPLY WITH REQUEST.—If 
the Attorney General determines that there is a reasonable 
likelihood that an Internet-restricting country has re-
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quested of a United States business that collects or ob-
tains personally identifiable information through the pro-
vision of products or services on the Internet such infor-
mation for other than legitimate law enforcement pur-
poses, the Attorney General may issue an order to the 
United States business that it shall not comply with the 
request. 
(e) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person ag-
grieved by a violation of subsection (a) or (c), or by a vio-
lation of an order issued under subsection (d), may bring 
in the appropriate United States district court an action 
against the United States business that committed the vio-
lation for damages, including punitive damages, or other 
appropriate relief, without regard to the amount in con-
troversy, and without regard to the citizenship of the par-
ties. 
SEC. 203. TRANSPARENCY REGARDING SEARCH ENGINE 
FILTERING. 
Any United States business that creates, provides, or 
hosts an Internet search engine shall provide the Director 
of the Office of Global Internet Freedom, in a format and 
with a frequency to be specified by the Director, with all 
terms and parameters used to filter, limit, or otherwise 
affect the results provided by the search engine that are 
implemented— 
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(1) at the request of, or by reason of any other 
direct or indirect communication by, any foreign of-
ficial of an Internet-restricting country; or 
(2) to comply with a policy or practice of re-
strictions on Internet freedom in an Internet-re-
stricting country. 
SEC. 204. TRANSPARENCY REGARDING INTERNET CENSOR-
SHIP. 
(a) PROVISION OF URLS.—Any United States busi-
ness that maintains an Internet content hosting service 
shall provide the Director of the Office of Global Internet 
Freedom, in a format and with a frequency to be specified 
by the Office, with the Uniform Resource Locators 
(URLs) of all data and content that such business has, 
under the circumstances set forth in subsection (b)— 
(1) removed from the Internet content hosting 
service of such business; 
(2) blocked from availability on the Internet; or 
(3) blocked from transmission via the Internet 
into or within an Internet-restricting country. 
(b) CIRCUMSTANCES.—The circumstances referred to 
in subsection (a) are that the United States business took 
the action under subsection (a)— 
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(1) at the request of, or by reason of any other 
direct or indirect communication by, any foreign of-
ficial of an Internet-restricting country; or 
(2) in order to comply with a policy or practice 
of restrictions on Internet freedom in an Internet-re-
stricting country. 
SEC. 205. PROTECTION OF UNITED STATES-SUPPORTED ON-
LINE CONTENT. 
A United States business that maintains an Internet 
content hosting service may not conduct Internet jamming 
of a United States-supported Web site or United States- 
supported content in an Internet-restricting country. 
SEC. 206. PENALTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any United States business that 
violates this title or any order issued under section 202(d) 
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than 
$2,000,000 imposed in an action brought by the Attorney 
General. 
(b) LIABILITY OF UNITED STATES BUSINESSES FOR 
ACTS OF FOREIGN ENTITIES.—A United States business 
shall be subject to the penalties under subsection (a) for 
the acts carried out by a foreign entity that would be a 
violation under this Act if engaged in by a United States 
business, if the United States business— 
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(1) controls a controlling interest in the voting 
shares or other equity securities of the foreign enti-
ty; 
(2) authorizes, directs, controls, or participates 
in the acts by the foreign entity; or 
(3) authorizes, in whole or in part, by license or 
otherwise, the foreign entity to use the trade name 
of the United States business in connection with 
goods or services provided by the foreign entity. 
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES
FOR KNOWING VIOLA-
TIONS.—Whoever knowingly provides to a foreign official 
of an Internet-restricting country information in violation 
of an order issued under section 202(d), knowing that so 
providing such information will further a policy on the 
part of the government of such country of prosecuting, 
persecuting, or otherwise punishing individuals or groups 
on account of the peaceful expression of political, religious, 
or ideological opinion or belief, and with the result that 
so providing such information leads to the death, torture, 
serious bodily injury, disappearance, or detention of any 
individual on such account, shall be fined under title 18, 
United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, 
or both. 
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SEC. 207. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 
President may waive the application of any of the provi-
sions of sections 201 through 205 with respect to a United 
States business or an Internet-restricting country, if the 
President determines and so reports to the appropriate 
congressional committees that— 
(1) the government of the country has ceased 
the activities giving rise to the designation of the 
country as an Internet-restricting country; 
(2) the exercise of such waiver authority would 
further the purposes of this Act; or 
(3) the national interest of the United States 
requires the exercise of such waiver authority. 
(b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 
the date of the exercise of a waiver under subsection (a), 
the President shall notify the appropriate congressional 
committees of the waiver or the intention to exercise the 
waiver, together with a detailed justification for the waiv-
er. 
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