Washington, DC – Section 5124 of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual “must-pass” defense policy bill, contains provisions intended to support internet freedom in Iran. The National Iranian American Council views these provisions favorably, and has long worked to ensure that U.S. policy supports – rather than actively hinders – the ability of the Iranian people to communicate and share information via the internet without being subjected to censorship, surveillance and internet blackouts.
“NIAC is pleased that Congress has included a vital provision to support internet freedom in Iran in this year’s annual defense authorization act, which is widely expected to pass in the days to come,” said NIAC President Jamal Abdi. “The people of Iran deserve to communicate freely online without efforts by the Iranian government to surveil, track and repress their free expression.”
Abdi continued, “Of deep concern, the 2022 Woman, Life Freedom movement and earlier protests have been marked by extensive violations of human rights, including the throttling of the internet amid the killing of protesters. It is important that the international community and in particular the United States work to prevent internet blackouts in Iran and throughout the world, and ensure that policies like broad sanctions do not unwittingly contribute to the Iranian peoples’ isolation. NIAC has been among those in the Iranian-American community urging Congress and the administration to take further steps to support internet freedom, and we welcome the adoption of this key step forward in the days to come.”
Section 5124 supports internet freedom in Iran in two main ways. First, it requires the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to support internet freedom in Iran, including by studying the use of vital circumvention technology including virtual private networks by civil society in Iran, how the Iranian government has proven able to impose internet blackouts during periods of unrest and a strategy to circumvent internet blackouts by Iranian civil society. This is critical as the Iranian government has proven increasingly capable of throttling the internet and tracking online activities and the movement of activists, including via its move to a national intranet.
Second, the provision authorizes the Secretary of State to launch a new grant program to non-governmental actors to pursue activities that promote or expand internet freedom in Iran. This fills a key gap, as many knowledgeable actors dedicated to supporting internet freedom in Iran have lacked support to engage in work that can study the Iranian government’s online repression and figure out ways to support internet freedom.
NIAC has long championed internet freedom in Iran, including advocating for general licensing that work to prevent sanctions from barring key communication tools from the people of Iran and inadvertently aiding the Iranian government’s censorship and surveillance efforts. This provision has been added to the NDAA after NIAC and others in the Iranian-American community advocated for more extensive efforts to support internet freedom in Iran, leading to legislation introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin, and Reps. Eric Swalwell and Katie Porter. These lawmakers and those that supported the provisions on both sides of the aisle deserve credit for helping secure this step forward for internet freedom.