[FreeBeacon] A coalition of advocacy groups petitioned House Foreign Affairs Committee leadership to immediately advance three pieces of bipartisan legislation that would help Iran's embattled population to access the internet, according to a copy of a Monday letter shared with the Washington Free Beacon.
The three measures would collectively help the Iranian population use secure networks to circumvent the regime's internet blackouts and will likely receive significant bipartisan support once sent to a full vote in the House of Representatives. The advocacy groups recommend in their letter that the committee pass the bills as one larger measure "as a comprehensive package to advance internet freedom, human rights, and transparency for the Iranian people."
The 12 groups, led by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' sister organization FDD Action, sent the letter to committee chairman Brian Mast (R., Fla.) and ranking member Gregory Meeks (D., N.Y.) amid ongoing nationwide internet blackouts meant to keep Iranian protesters off the street. The Islamic Republic plunged its people into darkness when the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against the regime, repeating a similar tactic it employed earlier this year. A state-imposed internet outage provided Tehran the cover it needed to slaughter as many as 30,000 civilians during historic nationwide demonstrations in January. |