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(Original Signature of Member)
H. R. ll
111TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
Mr. WU introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on llllllllllllll
A BILL
To establish the Internet Freedom Foundation, and for other
purposes.
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1 (1) Freedom of conscience, freedom of speech,
2 freedom of the press, and freedom of association are
3 fundamental human rights.
4 (2) Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
5 Human Rights declares ‘‘Everyone has the right to
6 freedom of opinion and expression; this right in-
7 cludes freedom to hold opinions without interference
8 and to seek, receive and impart information and
9 ideas through any media and regardless of fron-
10 tiers.’’.
11 (3) The Internet is a transformative force and
12 stands to become the most powerful engine for cit-
13 izen empowerment, transparency, and the free ex-
14 change of ideas ever invented.
15 (4) Any government, or government sanctioned,
16 supported, authorized, or endorsed entity, either ex-
17 plicitly or implicitly, that blocks, restricts, controls,
18 or monitors any person’s use of the Internet effec-
19 tively transforms the Internet into a tool of censor-
20 ship and surveillance, in contravention of the Uni-
21 versal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter-
22 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
23 SEC. 3. INTERNET FREEDOM FOUNDATION.
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1 establish the Internet Freedom Foundation. The Internet
2 Freedom Foundation shall—
3 (1) award competitive, merit-reviewed grants,
4 cooperative agreements, or contracts to private in-
5 dustry, universities, and other research and develop-
6 ment organizations to develop deployable tech-
7 nologies to defeat Internet suppression and censor-
8 ship; and
9 (2) award incentive prizes to private industry,
10 universities, and other research and development or-
11 ganizations that successfully develop deployable tech-
12 nologies to defeat Internet suppression and censor-
13 ship.
14 (b) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this
15 Act shall be interpreted to authorize any action by the
16 United States to interfere with foreign national censorship
17 in furtherance of law enforcement aims that are consistent
18 with the International Covenant on Civil and Political
19 Rights.
20 SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
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1 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
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