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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7380 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7380
To make certain improvements relating to the coordination of efforts to
promote internet freedom and access to information in Iran, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 4, 2026
Mr. Swalwell (for himself, Ms. Tenney, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Salazar, Mr.
Min, and Mrs. Bice) introduced 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 committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To make certain improvements relating to the coordination of efforts to
promote internet freedom and access to information in Iran, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Internet Reach and Access Now Act''
or the ``IRAN Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the followings:
(1) The Government of Iran has repeatedly disrupted,
throttled, or shut down internet connectivity, impeding the
ability of the Iranian people to communicate during emergencies
and to exercise internationally recognized human rights.
(2) Satellite-based residential and Direct-to-Cell (DTC)
communications, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), embedded-SIM
(eSIM) technology, and other circumvention tools can mitigate
those shutdowns, but Iranian users face high costs, sanctions-
related equipment barriers, and pervasive digital surveillance.
(3) Clarifying United States policy and supporting secure
connectivity tools will materially enhance internet resilience
for the people of Iran.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that United
States policy should--
(1) promote the deployment of DTC communications, VPNs,
eSIM technology, and other secure communications tools that
enhance open access to the internet in Iran; and
(2) ensure that sanctions and export-control regulations
are implemented in a manner that does not unintentionally
hinder access to such tools by the Iranian people.
SEC. 3. IMPROVED COORDINATION OF EFFORTS TO PROMOTE INTERNET FREEDOM IN
IRAN.
(a) Duties of the Secretary of State.--The Secretary of State shall
be the Federal official with primary responsibility for--
(1) promoting widespread internet freedom in Iran and
expanding access to information for Iranian citizens;
(2) coordinating all efforts carried out by Federal
departments and agencies that relate to digital-freedom
initiatives in Iran; and
(3) serving as the principal official responsible for
updating and carrying out the strategy required under section
414 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of
2012 (22 U.S.C. 8754).
(b) Updates to Comprehensive Strategy To Promote Internet Freedom
and Access to Information in Iran.--
(1) Updates.--Section 414 of the Iran Threat Reduction and
Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8754) is amended--
(A) by striking ``Not later than'' and inserting
``(a) Initial Strategy.--Not later than'';
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (11) and (12) as
paragraphs (14) and (15), respectively;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (10) the following
new paragraphs:
``(11) evaluate the use of virtual private networks and
direct-to-cell satellite technologies by civil society and
human rights activists in Iran and develop strategies for
increasing the accessibility of such networks and technologies;
``(12) work with the Department of the Treasury and the
Department of Commerce to ensure enforcement of sanctions does
not impede companies providing to Iranian civilians the
technology and other tools necessary to access the open
internet;
``(13) assess the ability of the Iranian regime to cut off
all access to the internet and develop a strategy to circumvent
internet blackouts for Iranian civil society;''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(b) Updates.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of
other Federal departments and agencies as appropriate shall review the
strategy under subsection (a) on an ongoing basis and update the
strategy as appropriate, taking into account the results of such
review.''.
(2) Submission of first updates.--
(A) Submission.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State shall--
(i) review and update the strategy pursuant
to section 414(b) of the Iran Threat Reduction
and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C.
8754), as amended by paragraph (1); and
(ii) submit such updated strategy to the
appropriate congressional committees.
(B) Form.--The strategy under subparagraph (A)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may
include a classified annex.
SEC. 4. SATELLITE AND DIRECT-TO-CELL (DTC) COVERAGE SAFEGUARDS.
(a) Non-Exclusion Condition for New Licenses.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
shall, as a condition of any license, license modification, or market-
access grant issued on or after the date of enactment of this Act,
require that the licensee shall refrain from intentionally disabling,
degrading, or geo-blocking satellite or DTC coverage over the land
territory of Iran, except--
(1) to the extent specifically required by Federal law, an
order of the FCC, or an international coordination agreement
designed solely to prevent harmful interference; or
(2) for limited periods necessary to mitigate an imminent
threat to the integrity or security of the licensee's network,
provided that normal coverage is restored as soon as
practicable.
(b) International Advocacy.--The Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and the FCC, shall oppose
at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) or any successor
body any proposal that would compel or encourage geographic exclusion
of Iran specifically from satellite or DTC coverage provided by United
States-licensed operators.
(c) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the
Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report describing--
(1) actions taken pursuant to subsection (b); and
(2) any instances in which a satellite or DTC operator
intentionally excluded coverage of Iran and the basis for such
exclusion.
(d) Saving Clause.--Nothing in this section may be construed to--
(1) authorize any transaction or service that is prohibited
under United States sanctions laws or regulations, including
those administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of
the Department of the Treasury; or
(2) require a licensee to market, sell, activate, or
collect payment for services in Iran.
SEC. 5. CYBERSECURITY CAPACITY FOR CIVIL SOCIETY IN IRAN.
(a) Training and Tools.--The Secretary of State, acting through the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, shall, not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish programs
to--
(1) deliver remote or in-person cybersecurity training to
journalists, human-rights defenders, and civil-society actors
in Iran;
(2) furnish vetted open-source or commercially available
digital-safety tools, including VPN services and end-to-end
encrypted messaging applications; and
(3) provide multilingual educational materials that warn
Iranian users about regime-controlled applications and phishing
campaigns.
(b) Reporting and Evaluation.--
(1) Quarterly metrics.--The Secretary of State shall track
and, on a quarterly basis, make available to the appropriate
congressional committees aggregate metrics on the number of
trainees, incident-response cases, and unique users of
supported digital-safety tools.
(2) Independent evaluation.--Not later than 3 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
of the United States shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees an evaluation of the effectiveness of
the programs carried out under this section.
(c) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section may be construed to
supersede or limit existing authority under section 404 of the Iran
Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8754) or
any other provision of law related to internet freedom programming in
Iran.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of State $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 and 2028
to carry out sections 5 and 6 of this Act, including programs that
expand access to secure VPN services for individuals in Iran.
(b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a)
shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to--
(1) limit the authority of the President under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et
seq.);
(2) authorize any transaction prohibited under United
States sanctions or export-control laws; or
(3) require any United States person to provide goods,
services, or technology in violation of such laws.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Energy and Commerce, the Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the
Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
(2) ESIM technology.--The term ``eSIM technology'' means
embedded subscriber-identity-module technology that allows a
user to remotely activate cellular service on a compatible
device without a physical SIM card.
(3) VPN services.--The term ``VPN services'' means
encrypted internet connections designed to bypass a
government's censorship and surveillance, enabling secure and
unrestricted access to the open internet.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
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 committee concerned.
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 committee concerned.
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