IRAN Act

The Secretary of State shall be the Federal official with primary responsible for the following duties:

(1) Promoting widespread internet freedom in Iran and access to information in Iran.

(2) Coordinating any efforts carried out by the heads of other Federal departments and agencies relating to the promotion of widespread internet freedom in Iran and access to information in Iran.

(3) Serving as the principal official within the Federal Government responsible for coordinating updates to the strategy required under section 414 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8754) and implementing such strategy and any updates thereto.

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) develop guidance for the Department of the Treasury to ensure that enforcement of sanctions does not prevent companies from 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;

(C) ; and

(D) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the heads of the elements of the intelligence community (as such term is defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)), 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.

Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment, 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.

The strategy under subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

The term appropriate congressional committees means the following:

(1) 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.

(2) 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.