II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5377 

To develop a strategy for increasing access to independent information for 

Chinese citizens, to establish an interagency task force to carry out 

such strategy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To develop a strategy for increasing access to independent 

information for Chinese citizens, to establish an interagency task force to carry out such strategy, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLES.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Informing a Nation with Free, Open, and Reliable Media 

6 Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘INFORM Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 5. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 6. Strategy for increasing access to independent information for citizens of 

the People’s Republic of China. 

Sec. 7. Establishment of the Global News Service. 

Sec. 8. Increasing coordination and resources for censorship circumvention, secure sharing, and content creation initiatives. 

Sec. 9. Addressing the lack of reciprocity between the United States and the 

People’s Republic of China in the information space. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CCP.—The term ‘‘CCP’’ means the Chinese 

4 Communist Party. 

5 (2) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Coordinator’’ 

6 means the coordinator of the interagency task force 

7 appointed by the President pursuant to section 8(b). 

8 (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

9 means the Department of State. 

10 (4) PRC.—The term ‘‘PRC’’ means the Peo11 ple’s Republic of China. 

12 (5) RFA.—The term ‘‘RFA’’ means Radio Free 

13 Asia. 

14 (6) USAGM.—The term ‘‘USAGM’’ means the 

15 United States Agency for Global Media. 

16 (7) VOA.—The term ‘‘VOA’’ means Voice of 

17 America. 

18 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

19 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Since the advent and proliferation of the 

2 internet, the Chinese Communist Party has viewed 

3 the global, cross-border, and open information envi4 ronment the internet created as an existential threat 

5 to its legitimacy, its effective indoctrination and con6 trol of its citizens, and its authoritarian political sys7 tem. 

8 (2) Despite brief periods of increased openness 

9 in the internet ecosystem of the People’s Republic of 

10 China during the early 2000s, the CCP has since ex11 pended billions of dollars to develop a digital infor12 mation control regime (commonly known as the 

13 ‘‘Great Firewall of China’’) that is a wholescale sub14 stitution of the global internet with compelling, near15 ly universally used domestic platforms with built-in 

16 censorship and surveillance features as alternatives, 

17 which has fundamentally reshaped its population’s 

18 behavior. 

19 (3) Through this system in the PRC, the 

20 ‘‘Great Firewall’’ blocks foreign internet search pro21 viders, independent news and media websites, cir22 cumvention and secure messaging tools, and other 

23 content deemed undesirable by the CCP. 

24 (4) The PRC also engages in meta-level censor25 ship to obscure the possibility of circumvention and 


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1 surveillance evasion by criminalizing VPNs, blocking 

2 discussion of anti-censorship methods, widespread 

3 app removal from app stores, and related techniques. 

4 (5) Chinese internet users must contend with 

5 expansive repressive digital surveillance that often 

6 results in real-world consequences and leads to sig7 nificant self-censorship. 

8 (6) Under the leadership of Chairman Xi 

9 Jinping, the CCP and government organs have 

10 prioritized— 

11 (A) the censorship and surveillance of their 

12 citizens’ online behavior; and 

13 (B) the indoctrination of the CCP’s— 

14 (i) authoritarian worldview; 

15 (ii) anti-American and anti-West 

16 propaganda; and 

17 (iii) intent to undermine and redefine 

18 the United States-led global order. 

19 (7) The PRC’s internet censorship regime sys20 tematically— 

21 (A) amplifies the voices of nationalistic 

22 internet users; 

23 (B) silences the voices of moderate or dis24 senting voices; 


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1 (C) suppresses information that threatens 

2 the credibility of the CCP, including reports of 

3 corruption and of unexplained wealth held by 

4 CCP and People’s Liberation Army officials 

5 and their families; and 

6 (D) creates an echo chamber on the PRC 

7 domestic internet that makes it challenging for 

8 international observers to decipher— 

9 (i) the prevailing beliefs, values, and 

10 perspectives of different segments of PRC 

11 society; and 

12 (ii) their views on the domestic and 

13 foreign policies of the PRC government. 

14 (8) Concurrent with the increased sophistication 

15 and refinement of the PRC’s censored and restricted 

16 information space, the CCP has expended billions of 

17 dollars to build an asymmetric advantage by re18 engineering its population’s online norms concurrent 

19 with— 

20 (A) exploiting the open and uncensored on21 line information environment in the United 

22 States and many countries globally to advance 

23 its pro-CCP and anti-United States propaganda 

24 and disinformation; and 


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1 (B) highly restricting the United States 

2 online and public diplomacy activities in the 

3 PRC. 

4 (9) The United States Ambassador to China, 

5 Nicholas Burns, recently stated that the PRC’s Min6 istry of State Security has interrupted and effec7 tively cancelled 61 public in-person and online events 

8 organized by the United States mission in China 

9 since November 2023. 

10 (10) Despite a comprehensive censorship and 

11 surveillance regime, the relentless indoctrination by 

12 CCP and PRC government organs, and the highly 

13 coordinated, systematized, and repressive structure 

14 of the PRC censorship and propaganda apparatus, 

15 PRC citizens have begun to demonstrate— 

16 (A) a lack of confidence and satisfaction in 

17 their government’s policies, conduct, and the in18 formation available to them within the PRC’s 

19 censored and restrictive online information 

20 space; and 

21 (B) a growing willingness to express dis22 sent online, seek alternative sources of informa23 tion and engagement, and call for greater eco24 nomic and political freedoms. 


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1 (11) In a recent Stanford University study, re2 searchers discovered that PRC university students 

3 who were exposed to foreign news and independent 

4 content changed their knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, 

5 and behaviors suggesting that demand for uncen6 sored information can persist and may generate 

7 pressure on the PRC censorship apparatus. 

8 (12) In 2021, during a period when the Club9 house application was briefly uncensored in the Peo10 ple’s Republic of China, downloads and engagement 

11 on Clubhouse rapidly increased and provided an op12 portunity for PRC internet users to openly discuss 

13 sensitive topics, including— 

14 (A) the reeducation camps in Xinjiang; 

15 (B) the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre; 

16 and 

17 (C) the future of Taiwan. 

18 (13) One Clubhouse user penned a hashtag, 

19 which was viewed more than 50,000,000 times, call20 ing the discussions the ‘‘Renaissance of China’’. 

21 (14) In 2022, during the multi-city ‘‘White 

22 Paper’’ protests in defiance of the Government of 

23 the PRC’s zero-COVID–19 policy, internet users in 

24 the PRC expressed solidarity and organized the pro25 tests through a variety of online platforms. 


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1 (15) Information technology news outlet 

2 Techopedia released a report and data indicating 

3 that, despite being largely blocked and criminalized, 

4 the usage of VPNs in the PRC doubled during 

5 2023. 

6 (16) In February 2024, after the United States 

7 Embassy in Beijing posted information on China’s 

8 popular Weibo social media platform discussing sci9 entists’ use of satellite data to track and monitor the 

10 movement of giraffes, the platform was inundated 

11 with comments from PRC internet users lamenting 

12 the state of the PRC economy and recent turmoil in 

13 its stock, bond, and real estate markets, with many 

14 users expressing a desire for help from the United 

15 States. 

16 (17) The demand among PRC citizens for inde17 pendent and alternative sources of information is 

18 growing, while the level of United States Govern19 ment funding to disseminate circumvention tools to 

20 PRC citizens so they can access independent infor21 mation has remained at consistently low levels, espe22 cially compared to the billions of renminbi (Chinese 

23 yuan) the PRC is spending to censor and monitor its 

24 internet ecosystem. 


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1 (18) Publicly-funded VPNs supported through 

2 the Open Technology Fund are used by millions of 

3 monthly active users in China and have proven to be 

4 resilient. Traditional circumvention tools, such as 

5 VPNs, are necessary but are not sufficient to ad6 dress the unique challenge of China’s socio-techno7 logical information control system. 

8 (19) Increasing access to independent informa9 tion for PRC citizens will aid broader United States 

10 efforts— 

11 (A) to engage PRC citizens; 

12 (B) to provide credible and reliable alter13 native sources of information for PRC citizens 

14 regarding events occurring within the PRC and 

15 globally; 

16 (C) to promote a balanced understanding 

17 of the United States among PRC citizens; and 

18 (D) to support PRC citizens in their ef19 forts to advance their individual freedoms and 

20 human rights and hold their government ac21 countable. 

22 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

24 Government should— 


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1 (1) prioritize the development of a vision and 

2 strategy for engaging with PRC citizens through the 

3 development and delivery of Mandarin Chinese-lan4 guage content that is timely, compelling, and perti5 nent to— 

6 (A) the issues and challenges they face in 

7 their daily lives; 

8 (B) the domestic and foreign policy deci9 sions of the PRC government; and 

10 (C) the governance failures and corruption 

11 of the CCP, including unexplained wealth held 

12 by CCP and PLA officials and their families; 

13 (2) increase the level of coordination among 

14 Federal agencies to develop and disseminate timely, 

15 compelling, and pertinent Mandarin Chinese-lan16 guage content that is otherwise blocked by the PRC 

17 government’s highly censored and restrictive internet 

18 ecosystem; 

19 (3) dually prioritize— 

20 (A) access to independent information 

21 through circumvention and other tools for PRC 

22 citizens; and 

23 (B) the secure sharing of such content in 

24 the PRC’s highly censored internet ecosystem; 


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1 (4) optimize the impact of circumvention and 

2 secure content sharing tools by more effectively pair3 ing such tools with timely, compelling, and pertinent 

4 Mandarin Chinese-language content; and 

5 (5) seek to counter the lack of reciprocity with 

6 the PRC in the online information and public diplo7 macy space. 

8 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

9 It is the policy of the United States— 

10 (1) to make increasing access to independent 

11 information for and engagement with the roughly 

12 1,400,000,000 PRC citizens a national security pri13 ority of the United States that benefits broader 

14 United States priorities to promote human rights, 

15 the rule of law, and good governance in the PRC 

16 and globally; 

17 (2) to prioritize the expansion and improvement 

18 of the development and dissemination of independent 

19 information to PRC citizens inside and outside the 

20 People’s Republic of China, including by more effec21 tively pairing independent information with the cir22 cumvention and other tools needed to access such 

23 content; 

24 (3) to prioritize and coordinate Mandarin Chi25 nese-language content development and content disVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Dec 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5377.IS S5377

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1 semination, and develop technical solutions to ad2 dress the PRC’s digital information controls; and 

3 (4) to work with like-minded partners and al4 lies— 

5 (A) to develop coordinated and complemen6 tary strategies for increasing access to inde7 pendent information for PRC citizens; and 

8 (B) to address the lack of reciprocity in 

9 the information and media environments be10 tween the PRC and the United States and its 

11 partners and allies. 

12 SEC. 6. STRATEGY FOR INCREASING ACCESS TO INDE13 PENDENT INFORMATION FOR CITIZENS OF 

14 THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 

15 (a) PRESIDENT’S STRATEGY.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

17 shall submit a strategy to the Committee on Foreign Rela18 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

19 of the House of Representatives for increasing access to 

20 independent information for citizens of the PRC who are 

21 within or outside the PRC. 

22 (b) STRATEGY ELEMENTS.—The strategy required 

23 under subsection (a) shall include— 


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1 (1) a plan for increasing the accessibility and 

2 adoption of circumvention and secure communica3 tions tools within the PRC, which may include— 

4 (A) an assessment of the technical chal5 lenges of the PRC’s information control regime; 

6 and 

7 (B) an evaluation of research, techno8 logical, and other gaps that may affect strategy 

9 implementation; 

10 (2) an assessment of Mandarin Chinese-lan11 guage content creation and distribution capabilities 

12 within the Department, across the interagency task 

13 force established pursuant to section 8, and among 

14 other Federal departments and agencies, as appro15 priate, including— 

16 (A) whether United States Government17 produced, Mandarin Chinese-language content 

18 is accessible either inside or outside the PRC; 

19 (B) the uptake of, and engagement with, 

20 various types of content among citizens of the 

21 PRC within or outside the PRC; 

22 (C) the use of survey tools and other data 

23 sources to assess the areas of interest and con24 cern, whether domestic or international, among 

25 different segments of PRC citizens; and 


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1 (D) where gaps or duplication of effort 

2 exist in the efficacy of the Mandarin Chinese3 language content developed and disseminated 

4 by the Department or the interagency task 

5 force, and how such gaps or duplication will be 

6 addressed through the strategy; 

7 (3) a description of how the Department plans 

8 to improve coordination between components of the 

9 Department, and across the interagency task force, 

10 in— 

11 (A) developing and disseminating compel12 ling, accessible Mandarin Chinese-language con13 tent within and outside the PRC’s information 

14 control regime while avoiding duplication; and 

15 (B) funding outside organizations to de16 velop circumvention and secure content sharing 

17 tools; 

18 (4) a description of how the Department plans 

19 to promote greater convergence and pairing between 

20 the development and dissemination of effective and 

21 high quality content and the circumvention tools 

22 used to access and share such content; 

23 (5) a description of how the Department plans 

24 to develop networks with known and emerging Man25 darin Chinese-language content developers and social 


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1 media influencers through initiatives such as media 

2 and internet freedom programs based outside of the 

3 PRC; 

4 (6) an assessment of the current efficacy of 

5 content generated by the Department that is dis6 seminated within the PRC, including by United 

7 States embassies and consulates within the PRC, 

8 and how Department plans to improve the efficacy 

9 and use of content disseminated within the PRC; 

10 (7) a plan for increasing digital engagement 

11 with citizens of the PRC who are living or traveling 

12 outside of the PRC by providing them with tem13 porary access to an uncensored internet environ14 ment; and 

15 (8) a description of any additional resources, in16 cluding additional funding or authorities, needed to 

17 further the objectives outlined in the strategy. 

18 (c) CLASSIFICATION.—The strategy required under 

19 subsection (a) shall be unclassified, but may include a 

20 classified annex. 

21 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GLOBAL NEWS SERVICE. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The United States Inter23 national Broadcasting Act of 1994 (title III of Public Law 

24 103–236; 22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

25 after section 309A the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 309B. GLOBAL NEWS SERVICE. 

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants authorized under 

4 section 305(a) shall be available to make annual 

5 grants for the purpose of curating, translating, dis6 tributing, and making available content created or 

7 disseminated by the Voice of America, Radio Free 

8 Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle 

9 East Broadcasting Networks, the Office of Cuba 

10 Broadcasting, or any entity funded by or partnering 

11 with the United States Agency for Global Media, in12 cluding news and information related to the People’s 

13 Republic of China. 

14 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

15 grantee entity, which shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) be known as the ’Global News Serv17 ice’; and 

18 ‘‘(B) carry out the functions set forth in 

19 subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—ln furtherance of the mission de21 scribed in subsection (a)(1), the Global News Service— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall seek to curate, translate, distribute, 

23 and make available content about or related to the 

24 People’s Republic of China and the People’s Repub25 lic of China’s malign activities globally, in coordinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Dec 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5377.IS S5377

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1 tion with Voice of America’s and Radio Free Asia’s 

2 Mandarin Chinese language news service; 

3 ‘‘(2) shall offer the content described in para4 graph (1) in Mandarin Chinese and in English for 

5 the purpose of making fact-based, uncensored 

6 China-related news available to news organizations, 

7 independent journalists, and online content creators 

8 around the world; 

9 ‘‘(3) should prioritize making available the con10 tent described in paragraph (1) to media outlets in 

11 countries that are influenced by Chinese Communist 

12 Party controlled media; 

13 ‘‘(4) shall ensure that— 

14 ‘‘(A) its Mandarin Chinese-language news 

15 service targets the Chinese diaspora abroad; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) its English-language news service tar18 gets foreign media outlets seeking China-related 

19 stories in English or other local languages; and 

20 ‘‘(5) shall carry out any other effort consistent 

21 with the purposes of this Act if such effort is re22 quested or approved by the United States Agency 

23 for Global Media. 

24 ‘‘(c) GRANT AGREEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any grant agreement with, 

2 or grants made to, the Global News Service under 

3 this section shall be subject to the limitations and 

4 restrictions set forth in paragraphs (2) through (7). 

5 ‘‘(2) HEADQUARTERS.—The headquarters of 

6 the Global News Service and its senior administra7 tive and managerial staff shall be in a location that 

8 ensures economy, operational effectiveness, and ac9 countability to the United States Agency for Global 

10 Media. 

11 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds may only be 

12 used for activities that are consistent with this sec13 tion. Failure to comply with such requirement shall 

14 constitute a breach of contract and termination of 

15 the grant without further fiscal obligation by the 

16 United States. 

17 ‘‘(4) ASSUMPTION OF OBLIGATIONS BY GRANT18 EE.—Any contract entered into by the Global News 

19 Service shall specify that all obligations are assumed 

20 by the grantee and not by the United States Govern21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(5) LEASE AGREEMENTS.—Any lease agree23 ments entered into by the Global News Service shall 

24 be, to the maximum extent possible, assignable to 

25 the United States Government. 


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1 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Administrative 

2 and managerial costs for operation of the Global 

3 News Service should be kept to a minimum and, to 

4 the maximum extent feasible, should not exceed the 

5 costs that would have been incurred if the Global 

6 News Service had been operated as a Federal entity. 

7 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION.—Grant funds may not be 

8 used for any activity the purpose of which is influ9 encing the passage or defeat of legislation considered 

10 by Congress. 

11 ‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO THE UNITED STATES AGEN12 CY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Global News Service 

14 shall be subject to the same oversight and govern15 ance by the United States Agency for Global Media 

16 as other grantees in accordance with section 305. 

17 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE.—The United States Agency 

18 for Global Media, its broadcast entities, and the 

19 Global News Service should render assistance to 

20 each other to the extent necessary to carry out the 

21 purposes of this section or any other provision of 

22 this Act. 

23 ‘‘(3) NOT A FEDERAL AGENCY OR INSTRUMEN24 TALITY.—Nothing in this section may be construed 


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1 to designate the Global News Service as an agency 

2 or instrumentality of the Federal Government. 

3 ‘‘(e) AUDIT AUTHORITIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Financial transactions of 

5 the Global News Service relating to functions carried 

6 out under this section may be audited by the Gov7 ernment Accountability Office in accordance with 

8 such principles and procedures, and under such rules 

9 and regulations, as may be prescribed by the Comp10 troller General of the United States. Any such audit 

11 shall be conducted at the place or places at which 

12 accounts of the Global News Service are normally re13 tained. 

14 ‘‘(2) ACCESS BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT15 ABILITY OFFICE.—The Government Accountability 

16 Office shall have access to all books, accounts, 

17 records, reports, files, papers, and property belong18 ing to or in use by the Global News Service per19 taining to financial transactions as may be necessary 

20 to facilitate an audit. The Government Account21 ability Office shall be afforded full facilities for 

22 verifying transactions with any assets held by de23 positories, fiscal agents, and custodians. All such 

24 books, accounts, records, reports, files, papers, and 

25 property of the Global News Service shall remain in 


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1 the possession and custody of the Global News Serv2 ice. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, the Inspector 

5 General of the Department of State and the Foreign 

6 Service is authorized to exercise the authorities set 

7 forth in chapter 4 of part I of title 5, United States 

8 Code (formerly known as the ‘Inspector General Act 

9 of 1978’) with respect to the Global News Service.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The United States 

11 International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (title III of Public 

12 Law 103–236; 22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 304(d) (22 U.S.C. 6203(d)), by 

14 inserting ‘‘the Global News Service,’’ before ‘‘the 

15 Middle East Broadcasting Networks’’; 

16 (2) in section 305 (22 U.S.C. 6204)— 

17 (A) by moving subsection (c) so that it ap18 pears immediately after subsection (b); and 

19 (B) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘the 

20 Global News Service,’’ before ‘‘or the Middle 

21 East Broadcasting Networks’’; and 

22 (3) in section 310(d) (22 U.S.C. 6209(d)), by 

23 inserting ‘‘the Global News Service,’’ before ‘‘and 

24 the Middle East Broadcasting Networks’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on January 1, 

3 2025. 

4 SEC. 8. INCREASING COORDINATION AND RESOURCES FOR 

5 CENSORSHIP CIRCUMVENTION, SECURE 

6 SHARING, AND CONTENT CREATION INITIA7 TIVES. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY TASK

9 FORCE.—The President shall establish an interagency 

10 task force composed of representatives from the Depart11 ment, National Security Council staff, and representatives 

12 from other Federal departments and agencies, as appro13 priate, as designated by the President. 

14 (b) TASK FORCE COORDINATOR.— 

15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall ap16 point a coordinator for the interagency task force es17 tablished pursuant to subsection (a). 

18 (2) DUTIES.—The Coordinator shall— 

19 (A) convene and coordinate the work of the 

20 interagency task force established pursuant to 

21 subsection (a); 

22 (B) oversee the development and execution 

23 of the strategy described in section 6; and 

24 (C) oversee the efforts of the Department 

25 described in subsection (d), in consultation, as 


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1 appropriate, with relevant Department officials, 

2 including officials reporting to— 

3 (i) the Under Secretary of State for 

4 Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs; 

5 (ii) the Assistant Secretary of State 

6 for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; 

7 (iii) the Ambassador at Large for 

8 Cyberspace and Digital Policy; and 

9 (iv) the Assistant Secretary of State 

10 for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. 

11 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The interagency task force shall— 

12 (1) develop and execute the strategy described 

13 in section 6(a); and 

14 (2) increase the coordination, within the De15 partment and between relevant Federal departments 

16 and agencies, as appropriate, of Mandarin Chinese17 language content development and dissemination, 

18 internet circumvention, and secure content-sharing 

19 tools specific to the PRC’s censorship regime. 

20 (d) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department, in con22 sultation with relevant members of the interagency 

23 task force, shall oversee the development of compel24 ling, timely, and relevant Mandarin Chinese-lan25 guage content for a variety of audiences within the 


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1 PRC and the dissemination of such content through 

2 a variety of tools and platforms within and outside 

3 the PRC. 

4 (2) INTERNET CIRCUMVENTION AND SECURE

5 CONTENT SHARING.—The Department, in coordina6 tion with relevant entities, other Federal depart7 ments and agencies, and external experts, as appro8 priate, shall seek to increase funding for programs 

9 and open source software that expand upon and de10 velop new tools for internet circumvention and se11 cure content sharing that are specifically tailored to 

12 evade the PRC censorship apparatus, including with13 in the PRC, and improve immediate access to inde14 pendent information for the end users of such tools. 

15 (3) MEDIA FREEDOM, INVESTIGATIVE JOUR16 NALISM, AND CONTENT DEVELOPMENT.—The De17 partment shall seek to increase funding for media 

18 freedom, investigative journalism, and content devel19 opment initiatives, including by establishing and ex20 panding a network of individual and independent 

21 journalists or media companies and social media 

22 influencers that investigate and produce articles, re23 ports, and other content related to real-time social, 

24 political, and economic events in the PRC— 


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1 (A) in which citizens of the PRC are di2 rectly interested; and 

3 (B) which can be accessed and amplified 

4 through a variety of tools and platforms within 

5 and outside the PRC digital ecosystem. 

6 (4) INCREASING MANDARIN CHINESE-LAN7 GUAGE CONTENT WITHIN THE GREAT FIREWALL

8 AND FOR CITIZENS OF THE PRC LIVING ABROAD.— 

9 The Department shall seek to increase the volume 

10 of— 

11 (A) effective and high-quality Mandarin 

12 Chinese-language content for dissemination 

13 through Mission China’s social media and other 

14 content sharing platforms; 

15 (B) material that can be disseminated to 

16 citizens of the PRC residing outside of the PRC 

17 and the PRC censorship apparatus; and 

18 (C) content that focuses on quality of life 

19 issues in the United States that are directly re20 latable to issues in the PRC, including issues 

21 related to food safety, environmental sustain22 ability, health care delivery, economic security 

23 and the jobs market, the investment climate, 

24 treatment of women, the treatment of 


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1 marginalized populations, and government 

2 transparency. 

3 (5) CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND SUR4 VEYING.—The Department shall— 

5 (A) increase and refine Mandarin Chinese6 language content directed towards citizens of 

7 the PRC residing within or outside the PRC; 

8 and 

9 (B) work with external organizations, as 

10 appropriate, to regularly conduct credible, peri11 odic surveys to gauge and assess issues of do12 mestic and international importance to citizens 

13 of the PRC to inform the work of the inter14 agency task force established pursuant to sub15 section (a) and the ongoing iteration by the De16 partment of effective, high-quality Mandarin 

17 Chinese-language content. 

18 (e) UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The USAGM and relevant 

20 Federal and non-Federal entities shall— 

21 (A) carry out the actions described in 

22 paragraphs (2) through (5); and 

23 (B) work with independent content cre24 ators, citizen journalists, and media organiza25 tions, as appropriate, to curate, disseminate, 


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1 and amplify the highest-impact Mandarin Chi2 nese-language content across USAGM entities 

3 to citizens of the PRC. 

4 (2) RADIO FREE ASIA.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Radio Free Asia, con6 sistent with its congressional mandate, shall— 

7 (i) deliver independent, uncensored, 

8 PRC-specific news and information in local 

9 languages to audiences in the PRC and in 

10 other countries; and 

11 (ii) increase coverage and digital Man12 darin Chinese-language programming on 

13 political, economic, and social issues in the 

14 PRC, including by— 

15 (I) expanding RFA’s Mandarin 

16 Chinese-language platforms; 

17 (II) prioritizing instances of PRC 

18 disinformation about PRC-internal 

19 topics directed towards Chinese citi20 zens through its bilingual Asia Fact 

21 Check Lab; and 

22 (III) providing insights to the 

23 interagency task force established pur24 suant to subsection (a) regarding— 


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1 (aa) content development 

2 strategies; 

3 (bb) priority topic areas sa4 lient to citizens of the PRC; and 

5 (cc) data about access to 

6 and engagement with Mandarin 

7 Chinese-language RFA content 

8 among citizens of the PRC. 

9 (B) TOPICS.—Topic areas at RFA’s edi10 torial discretion referred to in subparagraph 

11 (A)(ii)(III)(bb) should include— 

12 (i) quality of life in the PRC; and 

13 (ii) human rights, the rule of law, and 

14 good governance issues in the PRC that 

15 are relevant and important to broad seg16 ments of the population of the PRC. 

17 (3) VOICE OF AMERICA.—Voice of America 

18 shall, to the extent appropriate— 

19 (A) increase content of interest to citizens 

20 of the PRC; and 

21 (B) provide insights to the interagency 

22 task force established pursuant to subsection 

23 (a) regarding— 

24 (i) content development strategies; 


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1 (ii) priority topic areas salient to citi2 zens of the PRC; and 

3 (iii) data about access to and engage4 ment with Mandarin Chinese-language 

5 VOA content among citizens of the PRC. 

6 (4) OPEN TECHNOLOGY FUND.—The Open 

7 Technology Fund shall— 

8 (A) support the development and adoption 

9 of open source circumvention and secure com10 munications tools that are tailored for use in 

11 the PRC; 

12 (B) increase engagement with private sec13 tor technology companies, universities, and 

14 other relevant stakeholders to develop the next 

15 generation of internet circumvention and secure 

16 content sharing tools that— 

17 (i) are specifically tailored to the 

18 PRC’s censorship regime; and 

19 (ii) can rapidly increase access to and 

20 secure sharing of independent information; 

21 (C) issue regular public solicitations for 

22 students and other civil society groups in the 

23 United States and in like-minded countries spe24 cializing in the cybersecurity and technology 

25 fields to research and develop the next generaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Dec 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5377.IS S5377

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1 tion of internet circumvention and secure con2 tent sharing tools that directly target the PRC 

3 censorship regime; and 

4 (D) regularly consult with the interagency 

5 task force established pursuant to subsection 

6 (a) regarding matters related to the develop7 ment and adoption of circumvention and secure 

8 content sharing tools among citizens of the 

9 PRC, and inform about research and other 

10 technical needs related to circumvention of the 

11 PRC censorship regime and secure content 

12 sharing. 

13 (5) GLOBAL NEWS SERVICE.—The Global News 

14 Service shall— 

15 (A) seek to curate, translate, distribute, 

16 and make available content about or related to 

17 the People’s Republic of China and the People’s 

18 Republic of China’s malign activities globally, in 

19 coordination with Voice of America’s and Radio 

20 Free Asia’s Mandarin Chinese language news 

21 service; 

22 (B) offer such content in Mandarin Chi23 nese and English for the purpose of making 

24 fact-based, uncensored China-related news 

25 available to news organizations, independent 


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1 journalists, and online content creators around 

2 the world; 

3 (C) prioritize making available such con4 tent to media outlets in the countries that are 

5 influenced by CCP state media; and 

6 (D) target the Chinese diaspora abroad, 

7 through its Mandarin Chinese language news 

8 service. 

9 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 (1) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—There is author11 ized to be appropriated to the Department, for each 

12 of the fiscal years 2025 through 2029, $25,000,000, 

13 which— 

14 (A) shall be expended for ongoing and new 

15 programs in furtherance of the strategy re16 quired under section 6(a) and the functions and 

17 objectives set forth in subsections (c) and (d); 

18 and 

19 (B) may be expended to contract with an 

20 external organization with expertise in sur21 veying populations in the PRC and the broader 

22 Indo-Pacific region. 

23 (2) UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR GLOBAL

24 MEDIA.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

25 the USAGM, for each of the fiscal years 2025 


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1 through 2029, $50,000,000, which shall be ex2 pended— 

3 (A) to carry out the functions of the Glob4 al News Service, as set forth in section 309B 

5 of the United States International Broadcasting 

6 Act of 1994, as added in section 7(a); and 

7 (B) for ongoing and new programs in pur8 suing the objectives set forth in subsection (e). 

9 SEC. 9. ADDRESSING THE LACK OF RECIPROCITY BETWEEN 

10 THE UNITED STATES AND THE PEOPLE’S RE11 PUBLIC OF CHINA IN THE INFORMATION 

12 SPACE. 

13 (a) DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT.—In pursuing diplo14 matic engagement with the PRC, the Secretary of State 

15 should prioritize addressing the lack of reciprocity in ac16 cess to the PRC internet and broader information space 

17 for United States Government, private sector, and non18 governmental stakeholders, particularly journalists, dip19 lomats, researchers, academics, internet technology, and 

20 social media companies and nongovernmental organiza21 tions within the PRC. 

22 (b) AVAILABLE TOOLS.—The President, in consulta23 tion with the Secretary of State, should consider all tools 

24 available to address the lack of reciprocity in access to 

25 the PRC internet and broader information space for 


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1 United States Government, private sector, and nongovern2 mental stakeholders. 

Æ 


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