Sponsors (4)
The bill could expand uncensored communications access for Iranians and improve U.S. program design and cost-effectiveness, but it raises meaningful risks to user safety and national-security exposure and requires taxpayer funding trade-offs.
Iranian civil society and protesters could gain improved access to uncensored internet if supported direct-to-cell and LEO options are feasible, increasing their ability to communicate and access information.
U.S. policymakers and implementing agencies will receive timely interagency analysis (within 120 days) to design grants and programs, enabling faster and better-coordinated assistance planning.
Taxpayers and implementing organizations will get assessments of per-user costs and resilience that can improve the cost-effectiveness of U.S.-funded communications assistance.
Iranian users, activists, and partner organizations could be endangered if detailed technical or vulnerability findings are mishandled or leaked, exposing methods and tools.
Iranian civil society and U.S.-backed programs could face reprisals or countermeasures from the Iranian government if evaluation or funding of certain technologies is detected, risking escalation and harm to users.
U.S. taxpayers may incur additional expenditures to implement recommended resilient communications and procure technologies, creating budgetary trade-offs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Secretary of State, with FCC and Treasury consultation, to deliver an updated Iran internet‑freedom report within 120 days analyzing direct-to-cell, satellite performance, telecom ownership, jamming risks, and grant eligibility criteria.
Requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the FCC and the Treasury Department, to deliver an updated report within 120 days that supplements the existing U.S. strategy on internet freedom in Iran. The report must evaluate technical, regulatory, and security issues for direct-to-cell wireless communications and drone/signal-jamming impacts; survey terrestrial and non‑terrestrial telecom providers and their ownership; analyze low‑Earth orbit (LEO) satellite performance during the January 2026 protests (with a classified annex allowed); and assess whether commercial off‑the‑shelf technologies should be eligible for an existing grant program based on access, integration, data protection, and resilience. No new spending is specified; the report must be delivered in unclassified form with an optional classified annex, and it supplements the strategy already required under current U.S. law concerning internet freedom programs for Iran.
Introduced December 4, 2025 by Jacklyn Sheryl Rosen · Last progress December 4, 2025