Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§8754 Comprehensive strategy to promote Internet freedom and access to information in Iran

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 94— - IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - MEASURES TO PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS › § 8754

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

No later than 90 days after August 10, 2012, the Secretary of State must send Congress a plan, worked out with the Secretary of the Treasury and other federal agency leaders, that helps people in Iran get and share information online safely. The plan must cover ways to let Iranians read and make content in Farsi and regional languages, support tools that get around government censorship, boost secure mobile and other communications for activists, give digital safety training and emergency help, and provide accurate local-language internet content. It must also expand surrogate radio, TV, live stream, and social network reach inside Iran — including expanding Voice of America’s Persian News Network and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda to provide hourly live news updates and breaking news coverage 24 hours a day and 7 days a week — help U.S. telecom and software companies follow U.S. export licensing rules to enable that expansion, try to overcome satellite jamming, increase embassy outreach to Iranian dissidents, expand access to proxy servers, and discourage companies from helping Iran censor the internet.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §8754

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Not later than 90 days after August 10, 2012, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive strategy to—

(1)assist the people of Iran to produce, access, and share information freely and safely via the Internet, including in Farsi and regional languages;

(2)support the development of counter-censorship technologies that enable the citizens of Iran to undertake Internet activities without interference from the Government of Iran;

(3)increase the capabilities and availability of secure mobile and other communications through connective technology among human rights and democracy activists in Iran;

(4)provide resources for digital safety training for media and academic and civil society organizations in Iran;

(5)provide accurate and substantive Internet content in local languages in Iran;

(6)increase emergency resources for the most vulnerable human rights advocates seeking to organize, share information, and support human rights in Iran;

(7)expand surrogate radio, television, live stream, and social network communications inside Iran, including—

(A)by expanding Voice of America’s Persian News Network and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda to provide hourly live news update programming and breaking news coverage capability 24 hours a day and 7 days a week; and

(B)by assisting telecommunications and software companies that are United States persons to comply with the export licensing requirements of the United States for the purpose of expanding such communications inside Iran;

(8)expand activities to safely assist and train human rights, civil society, and democracy activists in Iran to operate effectively and securely;

(9)identify and utilize all available resources to overcome attempts by the Government of Iran to jam or otherwise deny international satellite broadcasting signals;

(10)expand worldwide United States embassy and consulate programming for and outreach to Iranian dissident communities;

(11)expand access to proxy servers for democracy activists in Iran; and

(12)discourage telecommunications and software companies from facilitating Internet censorship by the Government of Iran.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 8754

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73