Digital GAP Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1359 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1359 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Global Access 2 Policy Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 4 The purpose of this Act is to— 5 (1) encourage the efforts of developing coun- 6 tries to improve and secure mobile and fixed access 7 to the Internet in order to catalyze innovation, spur 8 economic growth and job creation, improve health, 9 education, and financial services, reduce poverty and 10 gender inequality, mitigate disasters, and promote 11 free speech, democracy, and good governance; 12 (2) promote build-once policies and approaches 13 and the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet gov- 14 ernance; and 15 (3) ensure the effective use of United States 16 foreign assistance resources toward that end. 17 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 18 Congress makes the following findings: 19 (1) Internet access has been a driver of eco- 20 nomic activity around the world. Bringing Internet 21 access to the more than 4,000,000,000 people who 22 do not have it could increase global economic output 23 by $6,700,000,000,000 and raise 500,000,000 peo- 24 ple out of poverty. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1359 RFS (2) The number of Internet users has more 1 than tripled from 1,000,000,000 to over 2 3,000,000,000 since 2005, including 2,000,000,000 3 living in the developing world, yet more than half of 4 the world’s population remains offline, living without 5 the economic and social benefits of the Internet. By 6 the end of 2016, over 80 percent of households in 7 the developed world had Internet access, compared 8 with just 40 percent of households in developing 9 countries and just 11 percent in the world’s least de- 10 veloped countries. Of the world’s offline population, 11 an estimated 75 percent live in just 20 countries, 12 and rural, female, elderly, illiterate, and low-income 13 populations are being left behind. 14 (3) Studies suggest that women are dispropor- 15 tionately affected by a digital gap in developing 16 countries, where there are on average 23 percent 17 fewer women online then men. Bringing an addi- 18 tional 600,000,000 women online could contribute 19 $13,000,000,000 to $18,000,000,000 to annual 20 GDP across 144 developing countries. 21 (4) The United States has been a leader in pro- 22 moting access to an open, secure, interoperable 23 Internet around the world. Recognizing that support 24 for expanded Internet access furthers United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1359 RFS economic and foreign policy interests, including ef- 1 forts to end extreme global poverty and enabling re- 2 silient, democratic societies, the Department of State 3 launched a diplomatic effort called ‘‘Global Con- 4 nect’’. 5 (5) Internet access in developing countries is 6 hampered, in part, by a lack of infrastructure and 7 a poor regulatory environment for investment. Build- 8 once policies and approaches, which seek to coordi- 9 nate public and private sector investments in roads 10 and other critical infrastructure, can reduce the 11 number and scale of excavation and construction ac- 12 tivities when installing telecommunications infra- 13 structure in rights-of-way, thereby reducing installa- 14 tion costs for high-speed Internet networks and serv- 15 ing as a development best practice. 16 SEC. 4. EXPANDING INTERNET ACCESS IN DEVELOPING 17 COUNTRIES. 18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 20 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 21 mittees’’ means— 22 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 23 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1359 RFS Transportation, and the Committee on Appro- 1 priations of the Senate; and 2 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 3 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the 4 Committee on Appropriations of the House of 5 Representatives. 6 (2) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ 7 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv- 8 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 9 video, data, graphics, or a combination thereof, 10 using technologies including fiber optic, mobile, sat- 11 ellite, and Wi-Fi. 12 (3) BROADBAND CONDUIT.—The term ‘‘broad- 13 band conduit’’ means a conduit for fiber optic cables 14 and other connectivity technologies that support 15 broadband or wireless facilities for broadband serv- 16 ice. 17 (4) BUILD-ONCE POLICIES AND APPROACHES.— 18 The term ‘‘build-once policies and approaches’’ 19 means policies or practices that encourage the inte- 20 gration of Internet infrastructure into traditional in- 21 frastructure projects that minimize the number and 22 scale of excavation and construction activities when 23 installing telecommunications infrastructure in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1359 RFS rights-of-way to reduce costs, such as by laying fiber 1 optic cable simultaneously with road construction. 2 (5) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘stakeholders’’ 3 means the private sector, the public sector, coopera- 4 tives, civil society, the technical community that de- 5 velops Internet technologies, standards, implementa- 6 tion, operations, and applications, and other groups 7 that are working to increase Internet access or are 8 impacted by the lack of Internet access in their com- 9 munities. 10 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 11 consult, partner, and coordinate with the governments of 12 foreign countries, international organizations, regional 13 economic communities, businesses, civil society, and other 14 stakeholders in a concerted effort to close the digital gap 15 by increasing public and private investments in secure 16 Internet infrastructure and creating conditions for uni- 17 versal Internet access and usage worldwide by pro- 18 moting— 19 (1) first-time access to fixed or mobile broad- 20 band Internet by 2027 for at least 1,500,000,000 21 people living in urban and rural areas in developing 22 countries; 23 (2) Internet deployment and related coordina- 24 tion, capacity building, and build-once policies and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1359 RFS approaches in developing countries, including actions 1 to encourage— 2 (A) standardization of build-once policies 3 and approaches for the inclusion of broadband 4 conduit in rights-of-way projects that are fund- 5 ed, co-funded, or partially financed by the 6 United States or any international organization 7 that includes the United States as a member, in 8 consultation with telecommunications providers, 9 unless a cost-benefit analysis determines that 10 the cost of such approach outweighs the bene- 11 fits; 12 (B) adoption and integration of build-once 13 policies and approaches into the development 14 and investment strategies of national and local 15 government agencies of developing countries 16 and donor governments and organizations that 17 will enhance coordination with the private sec- 18 tor for road building, pipe laying, major infra- 19 structure projects, and development-related con- 20 struction such as schools, clinics, and civic 21 buildings; 22 (C) provision of increased financial support 23 by international organizations, including 24 through grants, loans, technical assistance, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1359 RFS partnerships to expand information and com- 1 munications access and Internet connectivity; 2 and 3 (D) avoidance of vendors and contractors 4 likely to be subject to extrajudicial direction 5 from a foreign government; 6 (3) policy and regulatory approaches that pro- 7 mote a competitive market for investment and inno- 8 vation in Internet infrastructure and service to en- 9 courage first-time, affordable access to the Internet 10 in developing countries, including actions to encour- 11 age, as appropriate— 12 (A) the integration of universal and gen- 13 der-equitable Internet access and adoption 14 goals, to be informed by the collection of related 15 gender disaggregated data and research on so- 16 cial norms that often limit women’s and girls’ 17 use of the Internet, into national development 18 plans and United States Government country- 19 level strategies; 20 (B) effective, transparent, and efficient 21 spectrum allocation processes and reforms of 22 competition laws that may impede the ability of 23 companies to provide Internet services; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1359 RFS (C) efforts to improve procurement proc- 1 esses to help attract and incentivize investment 2 in secure Internet infrastructure; 3 (4) the removal of tax and regulatory barriers 4 to Internet access, as appropriate; 5 (5) the use of the Internet to increase economic 6 growth and trade, including, as appropriate— 7 (A) policies and strategies to remove re- 8 strictions to e-commerce, cross-border informa- 9 tion flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 10 (B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 11 enabled by access to technology; 12 (6) the use of the Internet to bolster democ- 13 racy, government accountability, transparency, gen- 14 der equity, and human rights, including through the 15 establishment of policies, initiatives, and investments 16 that— 17 (A) support the development of national 18 broadband plans or information and commu- 19 nication technologies strategies that are con- 20 sistent with fundamental civil and political 21 rights, including freedom of expression, religion, 22 belief, assembly, and association; 23 (B) expand online access to government in- 24 formation and services to enhance government 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1359 RFS accountability and service delivery, including for 1 areas in which government may have limited 2 presence; and 3 (C) support expression of free speech and 4 enable political organizing and activism in sup- 5 port of human rights and democracy through 6 activities that expand access to independent 7 sources of news and information and safeguard 8 human rights and fundamental freedoms online, 9 in compliance with international human rights 10 standards; 11 (7) programs and mechanisms that actively pro- 12 mote and advance access to and adoption of Internet 13 and other information and communications tech- 14 nologies by women, people with disabilities, minori- 15 ties, low-income and marginalized groups, and un- 16 derserved populations, such as programs that ad- 17 dress social norms and barriers to women’s active 18 participation in the digital economy or Internet pol- 19 icymaking; 20 (8) mechanisms for public and private financing 21 of rural broadband connectivity and digital inclusion; 22 (9) public Internet access facilities and Wi-Fi 23 networks in places such as libraries, government 24 buildings, community centers, and schools; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 1359 RFS (10) the creation and support of research and 1 educational networks; 2 (11) cybersecurity, data protection, and privacy, 3 including international use of the latest version of 4 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 5 Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure 6 Cybersecurity; and 7 (12) interagency coordination and cooperation 8 across all executive branch agencies regarding the 9 promotion of Internet initiatives as a part of United 10 States foreign policy. 11 (c) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Secretary of 12 State, in coordination with other agencies, multilateral in- 13 stitutions, foreign countries, and stakeholders, shall ad- 14 vance the policy articulated in this Act and promote ex- 15 panded Internet connectivity worldwide, as appropriate, 16 by— 17 (1) encouraging foreign countries to prioritize 18 secure Internet connectivity in development plans; 19 (2) promoting the formation of region-specific 20 multi-sector working groups to ensure technical and 21 regulatory best practices; and 22 (3) encouraging the development of digital lit- 23 eracy programs in developing countries. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1359.RFS H1359 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 1359 RFS (d) USAID.—The Administrator of the United 1 States Agency for International Development (USAID) 2 should advance the policy articulated in this Act and sup- 3 port expanded Internet connectivity worldwide, as appro- 4 priate, by— 5 (1) supporting efforts to expand secure Internet 6 infrastructure and improve digital literacy, and other 7 appropriate measures to improve Internet 8 connectivity and usage, in close coordination with 9 the Secretary of State; 10 (2) encouraging public and private investment 11 in Internet infrastructure and services of developing 12 countries that takes into consideration the data se- 13 curity and integrity risks attendant to the products 14 and services of vendors likely to be subject to 15 extrajudicial direction from a foreign government; 16 (3) integrating efforts to expand Internet ac- 17 cess, develop appropriate, sustainable, and equitable 18 technologies, and enhance digital literacy and the 19 availability of relevant local content across develop- 20 ment sectors, such as USAID hea [Text truncated for display. 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