II 
Calendar No. 624 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 600 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JANUARY 30, 2017 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
OCTOBER 5, 2018 
Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
AN ACT 
To promote Internet access in developing countries and up-
date foreign policy toward the Internet, 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 ‘‘Digital Global Access 
Policy Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to— 
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(1) encourage the efforts of developing coun-
tries to improve mobile and fixed access to the Inter-
net in order to catalyze innovation, spur economic 
growth and job creation, improve health, education, 
and financial services, reduce poverty and gender in-
equality, mitigate disasters, promote democracy and 
good governance, and strengthen cybersecurity; 
(2) promote build once policies and approaches 
and the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet gov-
ernance; and 
(3) ensure the effective use of United States 
foreign assistance resources toward this end. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The number of Internet users worldwide 
has more than tripled from 1 billion to 3.2 billion 
since 2005, yet the growth rate of Internet access is 
slowing. An estimated 4.2 billion people, or 60 per-
cent of the world’s population, remain offline, an es-
timated 75 percent of the offline population lives in 
just 20 countries, and rural, female, elderly, illit-
erate, and low-income populations are being left be-
hind. 
(2) Studies suggest that women across the de-
veloping world are disproportionately affected by a 
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digital gap, and that bringing an additional 600 mil-
lion women online would contribute $13 billion to 
$18 billion to annual GDP across 144 developing 
countries. 
(3) Internet access in developing countries is 
most often hampered by a lack of infrastructure and 
a poor regulatory environment for investment. 
(4) Build once policies and approaches, which 
seek to coordinate public and private sector invest-
ments in roads and other critical infrastructure, can 
minimize the number and scale of excavation and 
construction activities when installing telecommuni-
cations infrastructure in rights-of-way, thereby re-
ducing installation costs for high-speed Internet net-
works and serving as a development best practice. 
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 
States to consult, partner, and coordinate with the govern-
ments of foreign countries, international organizations, re-
gional economic communities, businesses, civil society, and 
other stakeholders in a concerted effort to close the digital 
gap by promoting— 
(1) first-time Internet access to mobile or 
broadband Internet for at least 1.5 billion people in 
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(C) provision of increased financial support 
by
international
organizations,
including 
through grants, loans, and technical assistance, 
to expand information and communications ac-
cess and Internet connectivity; 
(3) policy changes that encourage first-time af-
fordable access to the Internet in developing coun-
tries, including actions to encourage— 
(A) integration of universal and gender-eq-
uitable Internet access goals, to be informed by 
the collection of related gender disaggregated 
data, and Internet tools into national develop-
ment plans and United States Government 
country-level development strategies; 
(B) reforms of competition laws and spec-
trum allocation processes that may impede the 
ability of companies to provide Internet serv-
ices; and 
(C) efforts to improve procurement proc-
esses to help attract and incentivize investment 
in Internet infrastructure; 
(4) the removal of tax and regulatory barriers 
to Internet access; 
(5) the use of the Internet to increase economic 
growth and trade, including— 
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(A) policies and strategies to remove re-
strictions to e-commerce, cross-border informa-
tion flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 
(B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 
enabled by access to technology; 
(6) use of the Internet to bolster democracy, 
government accountability, transparency, and human 
rights, including through the establishments of poli-
cies, initiatives, and investments that— 
(A) support the development of national 
Internet plans that are consistent with United 
States human rights goals, including freedom of 
expression, religion, assembly, and association; 
(B) expand online access to government in-
formation and services to enhance government 
accountability and service delivery, including for 
areas in which government may have limited 
presence; 
(C) advance the principles of responsible 
Internet governance, including commitments to 
maintain open and equitable access; and 
(D) support programs, research, and tech-
nologies that safeguard human rights and fun-
damental freedoms online, and enable political 
organizing and activism, free speech, and reli-
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gious expression that are in compliance with 
international human rights standards; 
(7) Internet access and inclusion into Internet 
policymaking for women, people with disabilities, mi-
norities, low-income and marginalized groups, and 
underserved populations; 
(8) cybersecurity and data protection, including 
international use of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology (NIST) Framework for Im-
proving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, that 
are industry-led and globally recognized cybersecu-
rity standards and best practices; and 
(9) inter-agency coordination and cooperation 
across all executive branch agencies regarding the 
construction and promotion of Internet initiatives as 
a greater part of United States foreign policy. 
SEC. 5. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 
In pursuing the policy described in section 4, the 
President should direct United States representatives to 
appropriate international bodies to use the influence of the 
United States, consistent with the broad development 
goals of the United States, to advocate that each such 
body— 
(1) commit to increase efforts and coordination 
to promote affordable and gender-equitable Internet 
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access, in partnership with stakeholders and con-
sistent with host countries’ absorptive capacity; 
(2) integrate affordable and gender-equitable 
Internet access data into existing economic and busi-
ness assessments, evaluations, and indexes such as 
the Millennium Challenge Corporation constraints 
analysis, the Doing Business Report, International 
Monetary Fund Article IV assessments and country 
reports, the Open Data Barometer, and the Afford-
ability Drivers Index; 
(3) standardize inclusion of broadband conduit 
as part of highway or comparable construction 
projects in developing countries, in consultation with 
telecommunications providers, unless such inclusion 
would create an undue burden, is not necessary 
based on the availability of existing broadband infra-
structure, or a cost-benefit analysis determines that 
the cost outweighs the benefits; 
(4) provide technical assistance to the regu-
latory authorities in developing countries to remove 
unnecessary barriers to investment in otherwise com-
mercially viable projects and strengthen weak regu-
lations or develop new regulations to support market 
growth and development; 
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(5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 
targets, including targets with gender-disaggregated 
data, to measure the effectiveness of efforts to pro-
mote Internet access; and 
(6) promote and protect human rights online, 
such as the freedoms of expression, religion, assem-
bly, and association, through resolutions, public 
statements, projects, and initiatives, and advocate 
that other member states of such bodies are held ac-
countable when major violations are uncovered. 
SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ORGANIZATION. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary of State should seek to enhance 
the efficiency and effectiveness of United States foreign 
assistance efforts to carry out the policies and objectives 
established by this Act, including by redesignating an ex-
isting Assistant Secretary position in the Department of 
State to be the Assistant Secretary for Cyberspace to lead 
the Department’s diplomatic cyberspace policy generally, 
including for cybersecurity, Internet access, Internet free-
dom, and to promote an open, secure, and reliable infor-
mation and communications technology infrastructure. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.—In recognition of the added value 
of technical knowledge and expertise in the policymaking 
and diplomatic channels, the Secretary of State shall— 
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(1) update existing training programs relevant 
to policy discussions; 
(2) promote the recruitment of candidates with 
technical expertise into the Civil Service and the 
Foreign Service; and 
(3) work to improve inter-agency coordination 
and cooperation on cybersecurity and Internet initia-
tives. 
(c) OFFSET.—To offset any costs incurred by the De-
partment of State to carry out the designation of an As-
sistant Secretary for Cyberspace in accordance with sub-
section (a), the Secretary of State shall eliminate such po-
sitions within the Department of State, unless otherwise 
authorized or required by law, as the Secretary determines 
to be necessary to fully offset such costs. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The redesignation of 
the Assistant Secretary position in the Department of 
State described in subsection (a) may not be construed 
as increasing the number of Assistant Secretary positions 
at the Department above the current level of 24 as author-
ized in section 1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Au-
thorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)). 
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SEC. 7. USAID. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment should— 
(1) integrate efforts to expand Internet access, 
develop appropriate technologies, and enhance digital 
literacy into the education, development, and eco-
nomic growth programs of the agency, where appro-
priate; 
(2) expand the utilization of information and 
communications technologies in humanitarian aid 
and disaster relief responses and United States oper-
ations involving stabilization and security to improve 
donor coordination, reduce duplication and waste, 
capture and share lessons learned, and augment dis-
aster preparedness and risk mitigation strategies; 
and 
(3) establish and promote guidelines for the 
protection of personal information of individuals 
served by humanitarian, disaster, and development 
programs implemented directly through the United 
States Government, through contracts funded by the 
United States Government, and by international or-
ganizations. 
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SEC. 8. PEACE CORPS. 
Section 3 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2502) 
is amended by— 
(1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 
(e); and 
(2) adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(f) It is the sense of Congress that access to tech-
nology can transform agriculture, community economic de-
velopment, education, environment, health, and youth de-
velopment which are the sectors in which Peace Corps cur-
rently develops positions for Volunteers. 
‘‘(g) In giving attention to the programs, projects, 
training, and other activities referred to in subsection (f), 
the Peace Corps should develop positions for Volunteers 
that are focused on leveraging technology for development, 
education, and social and economic mobility.’’. 
SEC. 9. PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
plans to promote partnerships by United States develop-
ment agencies, including the United States Agency for 
International Development and the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation, and international agencies funded by the 
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United States Government with the private sector and 
other stakeholders to expand affordable and gender equi-
table access to the Internet in developing countries, includ-
ing the following elements: 
(1) Methods for stakeholders to partner with 
such agencies in order to provide Internet access or 
Internet infrastructure in developing countries. 
(2) Methods of outreach to stakeholders to ex-
plore partnership opportunities for expanding Inter-
net access or Internet infrastructure, including co-
ordination with the private sector, when financing 
roads and telecommunications infrastructure. 
(3) Methods for early consultation with stake-
holders concerning projects in telecommunications 
and road construction to provide Internet access or 
Internet infrastructure. 
SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION 
EFFORTS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report on efforts to implement the policies specified in 
this Act and a discussion of the plans and existing efforts 
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by the United States Government in developing countries 
to accomplish the following: 
(1) Developing a technical and regulatory road 
map for promoting Internet access in developing 
countries and a path to implementing such road 
map. 
(2) Identifying the regulatory barriers that may 
unduly impede Internet access, including regulation 
of wireline broadband deployment or the infrastruc-
ture to augment wireless broadband deployment. 
(3) Strengthening and supporting development 
of regulations that incentivize market growth and 
sector development. 
(4) Encouraging further public and private in-
vestment
in
Internet
infrastructure,
including 
broadband networks and services. 
(5) Increasing gender-equitable Internet access 
and otherwise encourage or support Internet deploy-
ment, competition, and adoption. 
(6) Improving the affordability of Internet ac-
cess. 
(7) Promoting technology and cybersecurity ca-
pacity building efforts and consult technical experts 
for advice regarding options to accelerate the ad-
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vancement of Internet deployment, adoption, and 
usage. 
(8) Promoting Internet freedom globally and in-
clude civil society and the private sector in the for-
mulation of policies, projects, and advocacy efforts 
to protect human rights online. 
(9) Promoting and strengthening the multi- 
stakeholder model of Internet governance and ac-
tively participate in multi-stakeholder international 
fora, such as the Internet Governance Forum. 
(10) Advancing a strategy to promote— 
(A) global cybersecurity policy consistent 
with the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) Framework for Improving 
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity; 
(B)
global
Internet
freedom
principles, 
such as the freedoms of expression, religion, as-
sembly, and association, while combating efforts 
to impose restrictions on such freedoms; and 
(C)
improved
inter-agency
coordination 
and cooperation on cybersecurity and Internet 
initiatives. 
SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1)
BROADBAND.—The
term
‘‘broadband’’ 
means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv-
ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 
video, data, graphics, or a combination thereof. 
(2)
BROADBAND
CONDUIT.—The
term 
‘‘broadband conduit’’ means a conduit for fiber optic 
cables that support broadband or wireless facilities 
for broadband service. 
(3) BUILD ONCE POLICIES AND APPROACHES.— 
The term ‘‘build once policies and approaches’’ 
means policies or practices that minimize the num-
ber and scale of excavation and construction activi-
ties when installing telecommunications infrastruc-
ture in rights-of-way. 
(4)
CYBERSPACE.—The
term
‘‘cyberspace’’ 
means the interdependent network of information 
technology infrastructures, and includes the Inter-
net, telecommunications networks, computer sys-
tems, and embedded processors and controllers in 
critical industries, and includes the virtual environ-
ment of information and interactions between peo-
ple. 
(5) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘stakeholders’’ 
means the private sector, the public sector, coopera-
tives, civil society, the technical community that de-
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velops Internet technologies, standards, implementa-
tion, operations, and applications, and other groups 
that are working to increase Internet access or are 
impacted by the lack of Internet access in their com-
munities. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Global Access 
Policy Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to— 
(1) encourage the efforts of developing countries 
to improve mobile and fixed access to the Internet in 
order to catalyze innovation, spur economic growth 
and job creation, improve health, education, and fi-
nancial services, reduce poverty and gender inequal-
ity, mitigate disasters, and promote democracy and 
good governance; 
(2) promote build-once policies and approaches 
and the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet gov-
ernance; and 
(3) ensure the effective use of United States for-
eign assistance resources toward that end. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Internet access has been a driver of economic 
activity around the world. Bringing internet access to 
the more than 4,000,000,000 people who do not have 
it 
could 
increase 
global 
economic 
output 
by 
$6,700,000,000,000 and raise 500,000,000 people out 
of poverty. 
(2) The number of Internet users has more than 
tripled from 1,000,000,000 to over 3,000,000,000 since 
2005, including 2,000,000,000 living in the devel-
oping world, yet more than half of the world’s popu-
lation remains offline, living without the economic 
and social benefits of the Internet. By the end of 2016, 
over 80 percent of households in the developed world 
had Internet access, compared with just 40 percent of 
households in developing countries and just 11 per-
cent in the world’s least developed countries. Of the 
world’s offline population, an estimated 75 percent 
live in just 20 countries, and rural, female, elderly, 
illiterate, and low-income populations are being left 
behind. 
(3) Studies suggest that women are dispropor-
tionately affected by a digital gap in developing coun-
tries, where there are on average 23 percent fewer 
women online then men. Bringing an additional 
600,000,000 
women 
online 
could 
contribute 
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$13,000,000,000 to $18,000,000,000 to annual GDP 
across 144 developing countries. 
(4) The United States has been a leader in pro-
moting access to an open, interoperable Internet 
around the world. Recognizing that support for ex-
panded Internet access furthers United States eco-
nomic and foreign policy interests, including efforts 
to end extreme global poverty and enabling resilient, 
democratic 
societies, 
the 
Department 
of 
State 
launched a diplomatic effort called ‘‘Global Connect’’. 
(5) Internet access in developing countries is 
hampered, in part, by a lack of infrastructure and a 
poor regulatory environment for investment. Build- 
once policies and approaches, which seek to coordinate 
public and private sector investments in roads and 
other critical infrastructure, can reduce the number 
and scale of excavation and construction activities 
when installing telecommunications infrastructure in 
rights-of-way, thereby reducing installation costs for 
high-speed Internet networks and serving as a devel-
opment best practice. 
SEC. 4. EXPANDING INTERNET ACCESS IN DEVELOPING 
COUNTRIES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) 
APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit-
tees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives. 
(2) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ means 
an Internet Protocol-based transmission service that 
enables users to send and receive voice, video, data, 
graphics, or a combination thereof, using technologies 
including fiber optic, mobile, satellite, and Wi-Fi. 
(3) 
BROADBAND
CONDUIT.—The 
term 
‘‘broadband conduit’’ means a conduit for fiber optic 
cables and other connectivity technologies that sup-
port broadband or wireless facilities for broadband 
service. 
(4) BUILD-ONCE POLICIES AND APPROACHES.— 
The term ‘‘build-once policies and approaches’’ means 
policies or practices that encourage the integration of 
Internet infrastructure into traditional infrastructure 
projects that minimize the number and scale of exca-
vation and construction activities when installing 
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telecommunications infrastructure in rights-of-way to 
reduce costs, such as by laying fiber optic cable simul-
taneously with road construction. 
(5) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘stakeholders’’ 
means the private sector, the public sector, coopera-
tives, civil society, the technical community that de-
velops Internet technologies, standards, implementa-
tion, operations, and applications, and other groups 
that are working to increase Internet access or are 
impacted by the lack of Internet access in their com-
munities. 
(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 
consult, partner, and coordinate with the governments of 
foreign countries, international organizations, regional eco-
nomic communities, businesses, civil society, and other 
stakeholders in a concerted effort to close the digital gap 
by increasing public and private investments in Internet 
infrastructure and creating conditions for universal Inter-
net access and usage worldwide by promoting— 
(1) first-time access to fixed or mobile broadband 
Internet by 2026 for at least 1,500,000,000 people liv-
ing in urban and rural areas in developing countries; 
(2) Internet deployment and related coordina-
tion, capacity building, and build-once policies and 
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approaches in developing countries, including actions 
to encourage— 
(A) standardization of build-once policies 
and approaches for the inclusion of broadband 
conduit in rights-of-way projects that are funded, 
co-funded, or partially financed by the United 
States or any international organization that in-
cludes the United States as a member, in con-
sultation with telecommunications providers, un-
less a cost-benefit analysis determines that the 
cost of such approach outweighs the benefits; 
(B) adoption and integration of build-once 
policies and approaches into the development 
and investment strategies of national and local 
government agencies of developing countries and 
donor governments and organizations that will 
enhance coordination with the private sector for 
road building, pipe laying, major infrastructure 
projects, and development-related construction 
such as schools, clinics, and civic buildings; and 
(C) provision of increased financial support 
by 
international 
organizations, 
including 
through grants, loans, technical assistance, and 
partnerships to expand information and commu-
nications access and Internet connectivity; 
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(3) policy and regulatory approaches that pro-
mote a competitive market for investment and inno-
vation in Internet infrastructure and service to en-
courage first-time, affordable access to the Internet in 
developing countries, including actions to encourage, 
as appropriate— 
(A) the integration of universal and gender- 
equitable Internet access and adoption goals, to 
be informed by the collection of related gender 
disaggregated data and research on social norms 
that often limit women’s and girls’ use of the 
Internet, into national development plans and 
United States Government country-level strate-
gies; 
(B) effective, transparent, and efficient spec-
trum allocation processes and reforms of com-
petition laws that may impede the ability of 
companies to provide Internet services; and 
(C) efforts to improve procurement processes 
to help attract and incentivize investment in 
Internet infrastructure; 
(4) the removal of tax and regulatory barriers to 
Internet access, as appropriate; 
(5) the use of the Internet to increase economic 
growth and trade, including, as appropriate— 
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(A) policies and strategies to remove restric-
tions to e-commerce, cross-border information 
flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 
(B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 
enabled by access to technology; 
(6) the use of the Internet to bolster democracy, 
government accountability, transparency, gender eq-
uity, and human rights, including through the estab-
lishment of policies, initiatives, and investments 
that— 
(A) support the development of national 
broadband plans or information and commu-
nication technologies strategies that are con-
sistent with fundamental civil and political 
rights, including freedom of expression, religion, 
belief, assembly, and association; 
(B) expand online access to government in-
formation and services to enhance government 
accountability and service delivery, including for 
areas in which government may have limited 
presence; 
(C) advance the principles of responsible 
Internet governance, including commitments to 
maintain open access; and 
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(D) support expression of free speech and 
enable political organizing and activism in sup-
port of human rights and democracy through ac-
tivities that expand access to independent sources 
of news and information and safeguard human 
rights and fundamental freedoms online, in com-
pliance with international human rights stand-
ards; 
(7) programs and mechanisms that actively pro-
mote and advance access to and adoption of Internet 
and other information and communications tech-
nologies by women, people with disabilities, minori-
ties, low-income and marginalized groups, and under-
served populations, such as programs that address so-
cial norms and barriers to women’s active participa-
tion in the digital economy or Internet policymaking; 
(8) mechanisms for public and private financing 
of rural broadband connectivity and digital inclusion; 
(9) public Internet access facilities and Wi-Fi 
networks in places such as libraries, government 
buildings, community centers, and schools; 
(10) the creation and support of research and 
educational networks; 
(11) cybersecurity, data protection, and privacy, 
including international use of the latest version of the 
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National Institute of Standards and Technology 
Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cy-
bersecurity; and 
(12) interagency coordination and cooperation 
across all executive branch agencies regarding the 
promotion of Internet initiatives as a part of United 
States foreign policy. 
(c) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Secretary of State, 
in coordination with other agencies, multilateral institu-
tions, foreign countries, and stakeholders, shall advance the 
policy articulated in this Act and promote expanded Inter-
net connectivity worldwide, as appropriate, by— 
(1) encouraging foreign countries to prioritize 
Internet connectivity in development plans; 
(2) promoting the formation of region-specific 
multi-sector working groups to ensure technical and 
regulatory best practices; and 
(3) encouraging the development of digital lit-
eracy programs in developing countries. 
(d) USAID.—The Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID) should ad-
vance the policy articulated in this Act and support ex-
panded Internet connectivity worldwide, as appropriate, 
by— 
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(1) supporting efforts to expand Internet infra-
structure and improve digital literacy, and other ap-
propriate measures to improve Internet connectivity 
and usage, in close coordination with the Secretary of 
State; 
(2) encouraging public and private investment 
in Internet infrastructure and services of developing 
countries; 
(3) integrating efforts to expand Internet access, 
develop appropriate, sustainable, and gender-equitable 
technologies, and enhance digital literacy and the 
availability of relevant local content across develop-
ment sectors, such as USAID health, education, agri-
culture, and economic development programs; 
(4) expanding the utilization of information and 
communications technologies in humanitarian aid 
and disaster relief responses and United States oper-
ations involving reconstruction and stabilization to 
improve donor coordination, reduce duplication and 
waste, capture and share lessons learned, and aug-
ment disaster preparedness and risk mitigation strat-
egies; 
(5) establishing and promoting guidelines for the 
protection of personal information of individuals 
served by humanitarian, disaster, and development 
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programs directly through the United States Govern-
ment, and through contracts funded by the United 
States Government and by international organiza-
tions; and 
(6) establishing programs that directly address 
and seek to close gaps in access, adoption, and use of 
the Internet and other information and communica-
tions technologies by women, minorities, and other 
marginalized groups. 
(e) PEACE CORPS.—Section 3 of the Peace Corps Act 
(22 U.S.C. 2502) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 
(e); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) It is the sense of Congress that access to the Inter-
net can transform agriculture, community economic devel-
opment, education, environment, health, and youth develop-
ment, which are the sectors in which Peace Corps develops 
positions for volunteers. 
‘‘(g) In giving attention to the programs, projects, 
training, and other activities referred to in subsection (f), 
the Peace Corps should develop positions for volunteers that 
include leveraging the Internet, as appropriate, for develop-
ment, education, and social and economic mobility.’’. 
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(f) LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT.—In pur-
suing the policy described in this Act, the President should 
direct United States representatives to appropriate inter-
national bodies to use the influence of the United States, 
consistent with the broad development goals of the United 
States, to advocate that each such body— 
(1) commit to increase efforts and coordination 
to promote affordable, open, and gender-equitable 
Internet access, in partnership with stakeholders and 
consistent with host countries’ absorptive capacity; 
(2) integrate affordable and gender-equitable 
Internet access data into existing economic and busi-
ness assessments, evaluations, and indexes such as the 
Millennium Challenge Corporation constraints anal-
ysis, the Doing Business reports, International Mone-
tary Fund Article IV assessments and country re-
ports, and the Affordability Drivers Index; 
(3) standardize the inclusion of broadband con-
duit as part of highway or comparable construction 
projects in developing countries, in consultation with 
telecommunications providers, unless— 
(A) such inclusion would create an undue 
burden; 
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(B) such inclusion is not necessary based on 
the availability of existing broadband infrastruc-
ture; or 
(C) a cost-benefit analysis determines that 
the cost of such inclusion outweighs the benefits; 
(4) provide technical assistance to the regulatory 
authorities in developing countries to remove unneces-
sary barriers to investment and develop regulations to 
support market growth and development; 
(5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 
targets, including targets with gender-disaggregated 
data, to measure the effectiveness of efforts to promote 
Internet access; and 
(6) promote and protect human rights online, 
such as the freedoms of expression, religion, belief, as-
sembly, and association, through resolutions, public 
statements, projects, and initiatives, and advocating 
that member states of such bodies are held accountable 
for violations. 
(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION 
EFFORTS.—Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees on efforts to 
implement the policy described in this Act and, to the extent 
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practicable, describe efforts by the United States Govern-
ment to— 
(1) provide technical and regulatory assistance 
to promote Internet access in developing countries; 
(2) strengthen and support development of regu-
lations that incentivize market growth that contrib-
utes to increased Internet access in developing coun-
tries; 
(3) encourage public and private investment in 
Internet infrastructure, including broadband networks 
and services, in developing countries; 
(4) increase gender-equitable Internet access and 
close gender gaps in Internet and other information 
and communications technology adoption and use, es-
pecially in countries where social norms limit such 
adoption and use by women and girls, and otherwise 
encourage or support Internet deployment, competi-
tion, and adoption; and 
(5) conduct outreach and explore partnership op-
portunities with the private sector on activities that 
advance the policy described in this Act. 
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Calendar No. 624 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 600 
AN ACT 
To promote Internet access in developing countries 
and update foreign policy toward the Internet, 
and for other purposes. 
OCTOBER 5, 2018 
Reported with an amendment 
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