Letter to send to Representatives. Just copy and paste.
May [xx], 2026
The Honorable [Representative’s Name]
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Subject: Request for Co-Sponsorship of H.R. 6469 – FREEDOM Act
Dear Representative [Last Name]:
We respectfully request your co-sponsorship and support of H.R. 6469, the “Feasibility Review of Emerging Equipment for Digital Open Media Act” (“FREEDOM Act”), introduced by Representative Dave Min.
The Islamic regime in Iran has imposed a near-total internet shutdown on the Iranian population while preserving selective access for regime-affiliated networks and hyper-supporters. As a result, the regime has become the dominant source of information leaving Iran, enabling widespread misinformation and disinformation while preventing independent reporting on events occurring inside the country.
For millions of Iranian Americans and members of the Iranian diaspora, this communications blackout has severed contact with family members, relatives, and friends during one of the darkest periods in Iran’s modern history. The regime’s internet shutdown has effectively held an entire nation hostage while concealing the scale of ongoing atrocities from the international community.
According to reports from activists, eyewitnesses, human rights advocates, and families of victims, on January 8 and 9, 2026, the Islamic Republic carried out mass killings of unarmed civilian demonstrators across Iran. Reports indicate that more than 40,000 unarmed men, women, and children — including children as young as nine years old — were killed within approximately 48 hours. The number of injured is reported to far exceed 100,000.
Prior to the massacre, the regime cut internet access throughout the country to prevent news, images, videos, and evidence of the planned killings from reaching the outside world. Hospitals and clinics reportedly became targets of repression as security forces pursued injured demonstrators, and doctors, nurses, and emergency personnel faced arrest, violence, and, in some cases, death for attempting to provide medical care.
After the killings, families searching for missing loved ones were reportedly forced to identify victims in morgues where body bags containing unidentified civilians had been disrespectfully piled up. Reports further indicate that some detained protesters were later executed, and the regime pretended they were killed during the demonstrations. The regime continues to announce executions of arrested citizens, including individuals as young as eighteen years old, daily to inject fear in the population.
The scale and speed of the reported killings are historically extraordinary. One of the most infamous mass killings carried out by Nazi Germany was the September 1941 massacre at Babi Yar near Kyiv, where more than 33,000 Jewish men, women, and children were murdered within approximately 48 hours. According to reports from Iran, the Islamic Republic’s January 8–9, 2026 crackdown resulted in the killing of more than 40,000 unarmed civilian demonstrators within a similarly short time period.
The comparison is not made lightly. Rather, it reflects the reported scale, speed, and systematic nature of the killings carried out against unarmed civilians. The international community should not ignore atrocities of this magnitude simply because they occur behind an imposed communications blackout.
For additional perspective, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), civilian casualties during the Russia-Ukraine war from 2022–2026 totaled approximately 15,578 killed and 43,352 injured. By comparison, reports from Iran indicate casualty figures that exceed those totals within a matter of days.
The FREEDOM Act represents an important and necessary step toward evaluating technologies and strategies to restore civilian access to communication and information during government-imposed internet shutdowns. Access to communication is not merely a technical issue; it is a humanitarian necessity and an essential safeguard for transparency, accountability, and the protection of human rights.
It has now been approximately eleven weeks since internet access was broadly cut off for the Iranian population — the longest sustained nationwide internet shutdowns.
We respectfully urge you to co-sponsor and actively support H.R. 6469 and to advocate for its timely consideration in Congress. During these dark days, Iranian American families are desperately seeking the ability to communicate with loved ones and obtain truthful information about conditions inside Iran.
Thank you for your consideration and public service.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]
[Address]
[City, State ZIP]