U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on April 24 introduced bipartisan legislation to authorize the federal Open Technology Fund (OTF), which would seek to advance freedom of the press and unrestricted access to the internet in repressive environments overseas.
Rep. McCaul sponsored the Open Technology Fund Authorization Act, H.R. 6621, with lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) to authorize the OTF as an independent grantee within the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
“The U.S. Agency for Global Media has already made significant headway to improve internet freedom globally, and by authorizing the OTF as an independent grantee, this bill will better position the U.S. to help those fighting against this form of tyranny,” said Rep. McCaul.
According to the text of H.R. 6621, authoritarian governments are investing billions of dollars a year to create, maintain and expand repressive internet censorship and surveillance systems that limit free association, control access to information, and prevent citizens from exercising their rights to free speech.
“Over two-thirds of the world’s population lives in a country where the internet is restricted, and governments shut down the internet over 200 times each year,” according to the bill.
If enacted, the bill would enable the OTF to better support global projects focused on counteracting censorship and surveillance to promote free speech and communication on the internet, according to a bill summary provided by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, which received the bill for consideration. Rep. McCaul is ranking member and Rep. Engel is chairman of the committee.
“Knowledge is power, which is why information blocking has long been a hallmark of oppression,” Rep. McCaul said. “In the digital era, tyrants and dictators around the world seek to further control their citizens by restricting, censoring and surveilling the internet. This has been a growing trend in repressive regimes like China, Iran, and North Korea.”
The OTF is working on ways to circumvent such government censorship and restriction of the internet, added Rep. Engel. “I’m glad to support the OTF’s efforts and to join with Representative McCaul to authorize the fund in law,” he said.