FREEDOM Act

This Act may be cited as the Feasibility Review of Emerging Equipment for Digital Open Media Act or the FREEDOM Act.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of the Treasury, shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that updates and supplements the report required under section 5124 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (22 U.S.C. 8754a).
Updates to the strategy required in section 5124 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (22 U.S.C. 8754a), shall also include the following:
An assessment of the feasibility of using direct-to-cell wireless communications technologies to expand internet access for the people of Iran, including technical, regulatory, and security considerations.
An analysis of how drone-based platforms, signal jamming technologies, and related countermeasures could impact the feasibility, security, economics, and resilience of such direct-to-cell wireless communications.
A survey of terrestrial and non-terrestrial telecommunications service providers currently active in Iran, including—
whether such providers are state-owned or state-controlled;
the extent of foreign participation or investment in such providers; and
the implications of such ownership and control for communications freedom and censorship.
Any other relevant information to assess the opportunities and risks associated with terrestrial and non-terrestrial communications technologies in Iran.
The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
This Act may be cited as the Feasibility Review of Emerging Equipment for Digital Open Media Act or the FREEDOM Act.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of the Treasury, shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that updates and supplements the report required under section 5124 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (22 U.S.C. 8754a).
Updates to the strategy required in section 5124 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (22 U.S.C. 8754a), shall also include the following:
An assessment of the feasibility of using direct-to-cell wireless communications technologies to expand internet access for the people of Iran, including technical, regulatory, and security considerations.
An analysis of how drone-based platforms, signal jamming technologies, and related countermeasures could impact the feasibility, security, economics, and resilience of such direct-to-cell wireless communications.
A survey of terrestrial and non-terrestrial telecommunications service providers currently active in Iran, including—
whether such providers are state-owned or state-controlled;
the extent of foreign participation or investment in such providers; and
the implications of such ownership and control for communications freedom and censorship.
Any other relevant information to assess the opportunities and risks associated with terrestrial and non-terrestrial communications technologies in Iran.
An analysis of the effectiveness of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite internet constellation systems in providing accessible internet to Iranians during the January 2026 Iranian protests, the needs of Iranian civil society in being able to ensure reliable access to such systems when the Government of Iran cuts access to the internet, existing capabilities of LEO satellite internet constellation systems in circumventing jamming, the per user cost of providing LEO satellite internet constellation systems, and recommendations for technology improvements to LEO satellite internet constellation systems to be able to resist jamming technologies to ensure the Iranian people’s access to the global internet. This analysis should also include an assessment of physical and digital security vulnerabilities for LEO satellite internet users in Iran and recommendations for how to mitigate those concerns. The analysis and assessment shall have a classified annex.
An assessment of the feasibility of including readily available commercial off-the-shelf technologies to be eligible for the grant program outlined in section 5124 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (22 U.S.C. 8754a) that—
could facilitate unrestricted access to the global internet in Iran;
could be integrated into already available commercial technologies that civil society and the people of Iran have access to;
could reasonably shield the personal data of users from the Government of Iran; and
has some degree of resilience against countermeasures that the Government of Iran could employ when cutting off the global internet.
The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.