Kaine, Lankford Introduce Jimmy Lai Internet Freedom Act to Counter China’s Internet Censorship in Hong Kong

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the bipartisan Jimmy Lai Internet Freedom Act to assist the people of Hong Kong in circumventing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censorship and maintain access to a free and open internet.

The bill is named in honor of Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and publisher who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Hong Kong court after being convicted under Beijing’s National Security Law. The legislation responds to the CCP’s continued erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms and expanding efforts to restrict access to information online. The bill notes that Beijing has used its National Security Law to suppress freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press, while granting authorities expanded power to censor online content and obtain user information.

“China’s restrictions on internet in Hong Kong are a blatant attempt to crack down on dissent, stifle freedom of expression, and censor the free flow of information to the people of Hong Kong,” said Kaine. “The United States must stand up for freedom and the rights of all people. This legislation would improve the State Department and other agencies’ ability to strengthen access to internet and keep China from censoring information. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.”

The senators’ bill would establish a Hong Kong Internet Freedom Program within the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and a corresponding program at the Open Technology Fund. The programs would coordinate with an interagency working group to develop a strategy for strengthening internet resiliency and online access in Hong Kong.

The Jimmy Lai Internet Freedom Act would:

• Establish a Hong Kong Internet Freedom Program at the Department of State and Open Technology Fund.
• Support technologies that allow Hongkongers to circumvent internet blocking, filtering, and censorship.
• Support virtual private networks and other firewall circumvention tools.
• Provide digital security and resiliency support to pro-democracy activists and civil society organizations.
• Require a strategic planning report outlining the federal government’s efforts to expand internet freedom and circumvention technology in Hong Kong.

Kaine and Lankford first introduced the Safeguarding Internet Freedom in Hong Kong Act after Beijing imposed its National Security Law on Hong Kong. That legislation sought to develop and deploy firewall circumvention technology to help Hongkongers access information and communicate freely.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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