Otto Warmbier Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 2021

117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2129 AN ACT To promote freedom of information and counter censorship and surveillance in North Korea, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 2129 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Otto Warmbier Coun- 2 tering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 3 2021’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 6 ings: 7 (1) The information landscape in North Korea 8 is the most repressive in the world, consistently 9 ranking last or near-last in the annual World Press 10 Freedom Index. 11 (2) Under the brutal rule of Kim Jung Un, the 12 country’s leader since 2012, the North Korean re- 13 gime has tightened controls on access to informa- 14 tion, as well as enacted harsh punishments for con- 15 sumers of outside media, including sentencing to 16 time in a concentration camp and a maximum pen- 17 alty of death. 18 (3) Such repressive and unjust laws sur- 19 rounding information in North Korea resulted in the 20 death of 22-year-old United States citizen and uni- 21 versity student Otto Warmbier, who had traveled to 22 North Korea in December 2015 as part of a guided 23 tour. 24 (4) Otto Warmbier was unjustly arrested, sen- 25 tenced to 15 years of hard labor, and severely mis- 26 3 † S 2129 ES treated at the hands of North Korean officials. 1 While in captivity, Otto Warmbier suffered a serious 2 medical emergency that placed him into a comatose 3 state. Otto Warmbier was comatose upon his release 4 in June 2017 and died 6 days later. 5 (5) Despite increased penalties for possession 6 and viewership of foreign media, the people of North 7 Korean have increased their desire for foreign media 8 content, according to a survey of 200 defectors con- 9 cluding that 90 percent had watched South Korean 10 or other foreign media before defecting. 11 (6) On March 23, 2021, in an annual resolu- 12 tion, the United Nations General Assembly con- 13 demned ‘‘the long-standing and ongoing systematic, 14 widespread and gross violations of human rights in 15 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’’ and ex- 16 pressed grave concern at, among other things, ‘‘the 17 denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, 18 and religion . . . and of the rights to freedom of 19 opinion, expression, and association, both online and 20 offline, which is enforced through an absolute mo- 21 nopoly on information and total control over orga- 22 nized social life, and arbitrary and unlawful state 23 surveillance that permeates the private lives of all 24 citizens’’. 25 4 † S 2129 ES (7) In 2018, Typhoon Yutu caused extensive 1 damage to 15 broadcast antennas used by the 2 United States Agency for Global Media in Asia, re- 3 sulting in reduced programming to North Korea. 4 The United States Agency for Global Media has re- 5 built 5 of the 15 antenna systems as of June 2021. 6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 7 gress that— 8 (1) in the event of a crisis situation, particu- 9 larly where information pertaining to the crisis is 10 being actively censored or a false narrative is being 11 put forward, the United States should be able to 12 quickly increase its broadcasting capability to deliver 13 fact-based information to audiences, including those 14 in North Korea; and 15 (2) the United States International Broad- 16 casting Surge Capacity Fund is already authorized 17 under section 316 of the United States International 18 Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6216), and ex- 19 panded authority to transfer unobligated balances 20 from expired accounts of the United States Agency 21 for Global Media would enable the Agency to more 22 nimbly respond to crises. 23 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 24 It is the policy of the United States— 25 5 † S 2129 ES (1) to provide the people of North Korea with 1 access to a diverse range of fact-based information; 2 (2) to develop and implement novel means of 3 communication and information sharing that in- 4 crease opportunities for audiences in North Korea to 5 safely create, access, and share digital and non-dig- 6 ital news without fear of repressive censorship, sur- 7 veillance, or penalties under law; and 8 (3) to foster and innovate new technologies to 9 counter North Korea’s state-sponsored repressive 10 surveillance and censorship by advancing internet 11 freedom tools, technologies, and new approaches. 12 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO COMBAT NORTH KO- 13 REA’S REPRESSIVE INFORMATION ENVIRON- 14 MENT. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 16 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall de- 17 velop and submit to Congress a strategy on combating 18 North Korea’s repressive information environment. 19 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 20 (a) shall include the following: 21 (1) An assessment of the challenges to the free 22 flow of information into North Korea created by the 23 censorship and surveillance technology apparatus of 24 the Government of North Korea. 25 6 † S 2129 ES (2) A detailed description of the agencies and 1 other government entities, key officials, and security 2 services responsible for the implementation of North 3 Korea’s repressive laws regarding foreign media con- 4 sumption. 5 (3) A detailed description of the agencies and 6 other government entities and key officials of foreign 7 governments that assist, facilitate, or aid North Ko- 8 rea’s repressive censorship and surveillance state. 9 (4) A review of existing public-private partner- 10 ships that provide circumvention technology and an 11 assessment of the feasibility and utility of new tools 12 to increase free expression, circumvent censorship, 13 and obstruct repressive surveillance in North Korea. 14 (5) A description of and funding levels required 15 for current United States Government programs and 16 activities to provide access for the people of North 17 Korea to a diverse range of fact-based information. 18 (6) An update of the plan required by section 19 104(a)(7)(A) of the North Korean Human Rights 20 Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814(a)(7)(A)). 21 (7) A description of Department of State pro- 22 grams and funding levels for programs that promote 23 internet freedom in North Korea, including moni- 24 toring and evaluation efforts. 25 7 † S 2129 ES (8) A description of grantee programs of the 1 United States Agency for Global Media in North 2 Korea that facilitate circumvention tools and broad- 3 casting, including monitoring and evaluation efforts. 4 (9) A detailed assessment of how the United 5 States International Broadcasting Surge Capacity 6 Fund authorized under section 316 of the United 7 States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 8 U.S.C. 6216) has operated to respond to crisis situa- 9 tions in the past, and how authority to transfer un- 10 obligated balances from expired accounts would help 11 the United States Agency for Global Media in crisis 12 situations in the future. 13 (10) A detailed plan for how the authorization 14 of appropriations under section 7 will operate along- 15 side and augment existing programming from the 16 relevant Federal agencies and facilitate the develop- 17 ment of new tools to assist that programming. 18 (c) FORM OF STRATEGY.—The strategy required by 19 subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 20 may include the matters required by paragraphs (2) and 21 (3) of subsection (b) in a classified annex. 22 8 † S 2129 ES SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER- 1 SONS RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH KOREA’S RE- 2 PRESSIVE CENSORSHIP AND SURVEILLANCE 3 STATE. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose the 5 following sanctions with respect to any foreign person that 6 the President determines knowingly engaged in, facili- 7 tated, or was responsible for censorship by the Govern- 8 ment of North Korea or the Workers’ Party of Korea iden- 9 tified under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 4(b): 10 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The President 11 may exercise all of the powers granted to the Presi- 12 dent under the International Emergency Economic 13 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent 14 necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in 15 property and interests in property of the foreign per- 16 son if such property and interests in property are in 17 the United States, come within the United States, or 18 are or come within the possession or control of a 19 United States person. 20 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR 21 PAROLE.— 22 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—In 23 the case of an alien, the alien may be— 24 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 25 9 † S 2129 ES (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 1 documentation to enter the United States; 2 and 3 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 4 or paroled into the United States or to re- 5 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra- 6 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 7 seq.). 8 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 10 in subparagraph (A) may be subject to rev- 11 ocation of any visa or other entry docu- 12 mentation regardless of when the visa or 13 other entry documentation is or was 14 issued. 15 (ii) EFFECT.—A revocation under 16 clause (i) shall— 17 (I) take effect consistent with 18 section 221 of the Immigration and 19 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201); and 20 (II) cancel any other valid visa or 21 entry documentation that is in the 22 alien’s possession. 23 (b) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 24 10 † S 2129 ES (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex- 1 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 2 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 3 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 4 this section. 5 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at- 6 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 7 violation of subsection (a)(1) or any regulation, li- 8 cense, or order issued to carry out that subsection 9 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub- 10 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter- 11 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 12 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 13 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 14 of that section. 15 (c) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The President 16 may waive the imposition of sanctions under subsection 17 (a) with respect to a person if the President— 18 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na- 19 tional security interests of the United States; and 20 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 21 committees a notification of the waiver and the rea- 22 sons for the waiver. 23 (d) EXCEPTIONS.— 24 11 † S 2129 ES (1) INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.—This section 1 shall not apply with respect to activities subject to 2 the reporting requirements under title V of the Na- 3 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) 4 or any authorized intelligence activities of the United 5 States. 6 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanc- 7 tions under this section shall not apply with respect 8 to any authorized law enforcement activities of the 9 United States. 10 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER- 11 NATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall 12 not apply with respect to the admission of an alien 13 to the United States if such admission is necessary 14 to comply with the obligations of the United States 15 under the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of 16 the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 17 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 18 1947, between the United Nations and the United 19 States, under the Convention on Consular Relations, 20 done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 21 force March 19, 1967, or under other international 22 agreements. 23 (4) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 24 GOODS.— 25 12 † S 2129 ES (A) IN GENERAL.—The authority or a re- 1 quirement to impose sanctions under this sec- 2 tion shall not include the authority or a require- 3 ment to impose sanctions on the importation of 4 goods. 5 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 6 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 7 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu- 8 factured product, including inspection and test 9 equipment, and excluding technical data. 10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms 12 ‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the 13 meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 14 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 15 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 16 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 17 mittees’’ means— 18 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 19 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 20 Urban Affairs, and the Select Committee on In- 21 telligence of the Senate; and 22 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 23 Committee on Financial Services, and the Per- 24 13 † S 2129 ES manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 1 House of Representatives. 2 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 3 son’’ means any person that is not a United States 4 person. 5 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 6 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 7 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 8 fully admitted to the United States for perma- 9 nent residence; 10 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 11 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 12 United States; or 13 (C) any person in the United States. 14 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS WITH 15 RESPECT TO NORTH KOREA. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 17 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 18 through 2024, the Secretary of State and the Secretary 19 of the Treasury shall jointly submit to the appropriate 20 congressional committees (as defined in section 5(e)) a re- 21 port on sanctions-related activities and enforcement un- 22 dertaken by the United States Government with respect 23 to North Korea during the period described in subsection 24 (b) that includes— 25 14 † S 2129 ES (1) an assessment of activities conducted by 1 persons in North Korea or the Government of North 2 Korea that would require mandatory designations 3 pursuant to the North Korea Sanctions and Policy 4 Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 5 and 6 (2) sanctions-related enforcement or other sanc- 7 tions-related actions undertaken by the United 8 States Government pursuant to that Act. 9 (b) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period described in 10 this subsection is— 11 (1) in the case of the first report required by 12 subsection (a), the period beginning on January 1, 13 2021, and ending on the date on which the report 14 is required to be submitted; and 15 (2) i [Text truncated for display. 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