II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 394 

To promote digital citizenship and media literacy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. BENNET, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To promote digital citizenship and media literacy. 

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 TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Citizenship and 

5 Media Literacy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) People in the United States rely on infor9 mation from mass media, social media, and digital 

10 media to make decisions about all aspects of social, 

11 economic, and political life, including products and 


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1 services consumption, employment, career and pro2 fessional development, family and leisure choices, 

3 health and wellness, and democratic engagement. 

4 Ensuring that people in the United States possess 

5 the skills to make these informed decisions based on 

6 media begins early in life. 

7 (2) Adversaries from Russia, China, and Iran 

8 are using information warfare to influence democ9 racies across the world, and terrorist organizations 

10 often use digital communications to recruit mem11 bers. The United States can fight these influences 

12 by ensuring that citizens of the United States pos13 sess the necessary skills to identify disinformation 

14 and misinformation and think critically about their 

15 digital activities. 

16 (3) Media literacy education has proven critical 

17 to allies of the United States in building national re18 silience to foreign disinformation campaigns. Coun19 tries like Estonia, Finland, and Ukraine have devel20 oped and implemented successful media literacy edu21 cation programs in schools that have helped counter 

22 Russian disinformation campaigns. The United 

23 States has also invested in and promoted media lit24 eracy education abroad, including in the Baltics. 


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1 (4) Following Russia’s increased aggression to2 wards Ukraine and the West, and Russia’s invasion 

3 of Ukraine, media literacy skills have been important 

4 in ensuring Ukrainians and citizens of Western al5 lied countries are not influenced by Russian 

6 disinformation. 

7 (5) In order to build similar national resilience 

8 against foreign disinformation in the United States, 

9 Congress has recommended investing in media lit10 eracy education. 

11 (6) The bipartisan and bicameral Cyberspace 

12 Solarium Commission’s 2020 report recommended 

13 that the United States invest in media literacy, writ14 ing that ‘‘[b]y promoting modern civics education 

15 and digital literacy programs, the U.S. Government 

16 can assist in enhancing the average American’s abil17 ity to discern the trustworthiness of online content, 

18 and thereby reduce the impact of malicious foreign 

19 cyber-enabled information campaigns’’, and con20 cluded that Congress should authorize a grant pro21 gram ‘‘to improve digital citizenship and to incor22 porate effective digital literacy curricula in American 

23 classrooms at the K–12 level and beyond’’. 

24 (7) Similarly, the Select Committee on Intel25 ligence of the Senate stated, in a bipartisan report 


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1 released during the 116th Congress, ‘‘Addressing the 

2 challenge of disinformation in the long-term will ulti3 mately need to be tackled by an informed and dis4 cerning population of citizens who are both alert to 

5 the threat and armed with the critical thinking skills 

6 necessary to protect against malicious influence.’’. 

7 The Committee then recommended that a ‘‘public 

8 initiative—propelled by Federal funding but led in 

9 large part by state and local education institutions— 

10 focused on building media literacy from an early age 

11 would help build long-term resilience to foreign ma12 nipulation of our democracy’’. 

13 (8) Media literacy and digital citizenship edu14 cation also empowers young people and is critical to 

15 improving their health and safety, preventing 

16 cyberbullying, and enabling young people to make 

17 informed decisions about products and services, in18 cluding advertisements and controlled substances. 

19 (9) Social media and other online activities have 

20 been shown to have serious negative impacts on the 

21 mental and physical health of young people. Many 

22 studies have found that media literacy education is 

23 one of the most successful strategies for countering 

24 body image issues and eating disorders in children. 

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1 nership with California State University, Northridge, 

2 published a Digital Media Literacy toolkit to help 

3 students, including high school students, learn skills 

4 to think critically about body images and the online 

5 content they see. 

6 (10) Education and childhood development ex7 perts, as well as academic and medical researchers, 

8 have recommended that a key method for preventing 

9 and countering the negative impacts described in 

10 paragraph (9) is to teach media literacy skills to 

11 young people beginning early in their education. 

12 (11) A successful and inclusive media literacy 

13 program must be directed at students beginning in 

14 kindergarten and should continue throughout the 

15 completion of postsecondary education. Media lit16 eracy education must be inclusive and accessible for 

17 all students, including multilingual students, stu18 dents with limited proficiency in English, and stu19 dents with disabilities. Learning to critically analyze 

20 and create media is a lifelong process that can be 

21 developed by integrating media literacy competencies 

22 into academic curriculum across content areas and 

23 disciplines. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist2 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

3 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

4 (2) DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP.—The term ‘‘digital 

5 citizenship’’ means the ability to— 

6 (A) safely, responsibly, and ethically use 

7 communication technologies and digital infor8 mation technology tools and platforms; 

9 (B) create and share media content using 

10 principles of social and civic responsibility and 

11 with awareness of the legal and ethical issues 

12 involved; and 

13 (C) participate in the political, economic, 

14 social, and cultural aspects of life related to 

15 technology, communications, and the digital 

16 world by consuming and creating digital con17 tent, including media. 

18 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti19 ty’’ means— 

20 (A) a State educational agency; 

21 (B) a local educational agency; 

22 (C) a public library; or 

23 (D) a qualified nonprofit organization. 

24 (4) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘child 

25 with a disability’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘State 


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1 educational agency’’, ‘‘specialized instructional sup2 port personnel’’, and ‘‘universal design for learning’’ 

3 have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 

4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

6 (5) MEDIA LITERACY.—The term ‘‘media lit7 eracy’’ means the ability to— 

8 (A) access relevant and accurate informa9 tion through media in a variety of forms; 

10 (B) critically analyze media content and 

11 the influences of different forms of media; 

12 (C) evaluate the comprehensiveness, rel13 evance, credibility, authority, and accuracy of 

14 information; 

15 (D) make educated decisions based on in16 formation obtained from media and digital 

17 sources; 

18 (E) operate various forms of technology 

19 and digital tools; 

20 (F) reflect on how the use of media and 

21 technology may affect private and public life; 

22 and 

23 (G) protect oneself from online content 

24 that presents a clear risk to health and safety, 

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1 tent promoting illegal drugs, self-harm, or eat2 ing disorders. 

3 (6) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.— 

4 The term ‘‘qualified nonprofit organization’’ means 

5 an organization that— 

6 (A) is described in paragraph (3) or (4) of 

7 section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 

9 501(a) of that Code; and 

10 (B) has a mission to improve childhood 

11 education, childhood development, or media lit12 eracy. 

13 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall es15 tablish a program to promote media literacy, through 

16 which the Assistant Secretary shall award grants to eligi17 ble entities to enable those eligible entities to carry out 

18 the activities described in subsection (c). 

19 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires a 

20 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 

21 Assistant Secretary at such time and in such manner as 

22 the Assistant Secretary may require, including, at a min23 imum— 

24 (1) a description of the activities the eligible en25 tity intends to carry out with the grant funds; 


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1 (2) an estimate of the costs associated with 

2 such activities; and 

3 (3) such other information and assurances as 

4 the Assistant Secretary may require. 

5 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

6 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

8 is a State educational agency receiving a grant 

9 under this section shall use grant funds to 

10 carry out one or more of the following activities: 

11 (i) Creating and supporting a media 

12 literacy advisory council to— 

13 (I) provide recommendations 

14 about digital citizenship and media lit15 eracy guidelines; 

16 (II) identify barriers and oppor17 tunities for implementing media lit18 eracy in kindergarten through grade 

19 12 in public schools in the State for 

20 all students, including students who 

21 are children with disabilities; 

22 (III) identify best practices and 

23 effective models for media literacy 

24 education, including incorporating 

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1 viding additional accommodations for 

2 students who are children with dis3 abilities when needed; 

4 (IV) identify existing models of 

5 curriculum and existing policies in dif6 ferent States that are aimed at over7 coming the barriers identified in sub8 clause (II); 

9 (V) gather data or conduct re10 search to assess the media literacy 

11 and digital citizenship competencies of 

12 students, teachers, or specialized in13 structional support personnel; 

14 (VI) submit a report to the State 

15 educational agency containing findings 

16 and recommendations regarding the 

17 items identified under this clause; and 

18 (VII) annually update those find19 ings and recommendations. 

20 (ii) Assisting local educational agen21 cies in the development of units of instruc22 tion on media literacy, either as a new sub23 ject or as a part of the existing curriculum. 


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1 (iii) Assisting local educational agen2 cies in developing means of evaluating stu3 dent learning in media literacy. 

4 (iv) Assisting local educational agen5 cies in developing or providing professional 

6 development for teachers that relates to 

7 media literacy. 

8 (B) MEDIA LITERACY ADVISORY COUN9 CIL.— 

10 (i) MEMBERS.—The media literacy 

11 advisory council described in subparagraph 

12 (A)(i) shall include experts in media lit13 eracy, including academic experts, individ14 uals from nonprofit organizations, individ15 uals with expertise in education for stu16 dents who are children with disabilities, 

17 teachers, librarians, representatives from 

18 parent organizations, educators, adminis19 trators, students, and other stakeholders. 

20 (ii) DIVERSITY OF REPRESENTA21 TION.—Such membership shall include rep22 resentation from rural and urban local 

23 educational agencies, small and large 

24 schools, high- and low-resource schools, 

25 teachers of students with disabilities, and 


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1 schools in communities from diverse lin2 guistic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. 

3 (C) GUIDELINES.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

5 agency that creates a media literacy advi6 sory council under subparagraph (A)(i) 

7 shall, only after consideration of the find8 ings and recommendations described in 

9 subclauses (I) and (VI) of that subpara10 graph, develop and publish on the State 

11 educational agency website inclusive digital 

12 citizenship and media literacy guidelines 

13 for students in kindergarten through grade 

14 12 in public schools in the State. 

15 (ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines 

16 described in clause (i) shall be designed to 

17 develop media literacy and digital citizen18 ship competencies by promoting stu19 dents’— 

20 (I) research and information flu21 ency; 

22 (II) critical thinking and prob23 lem-solving skills; 

24 (III) technology operations and 

25 concepts; 


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1 (IV) information and techno2 logical literacy; 

3 (V) concepts of media representa4 tion and stereotyping; 

5 (VI) understanding of explicit 

6 and implicit media messages; 

7 (VII) understanding of values 

8 and points of view that are included 

9 and excluded in media content; 

10 (VIII) understanding of how 

11 media may influence ideas and behav12 iors; 

13 (IX) understanding of the impor14 tance of obtaining information from 

15 multiple media sources and evaluating 

16 sources for quality; 

17 (X) understanding how informa18 tion on digital platforms can be al19 tered through algorithms, editing, and 

20 augmented reality; and 

21 (XI) ability to create media in 

22 civically and socially responsible ways. 

23 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—An eligi24 ble entity that is a local educational agency receiving 


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1 a grant under this section shall use grant funds to 

2 carry out one or more of the following activities: 

3 (A) Incorporating digital citizenship and 

4 media literacy into the existing curriculum 

5 (across content and disciplinary areas) or estab6 lishing new educational opportunities to learn 

7 about media literacy. 

8 (B) Employing specialized instructional 

9 support personnel, such as a librarian or other 

10 personnel who can provide instructional services 

11 in media literacy. 

12 (C) Providing funding to educators who 

13 are carrying out activities described in subpara14 graph (A) to further their professional develop15 ment in relation to media literacy, including 

16 funding for traveling to media literacy con17 ferences to share knowledge with regional and 

18 national stakeholders. 

19 (D) Other activities, including student led 

20 efforts, to support, develop, or promote the im21 plementation of media literacy education pro22 grams, policies, teacher preparation, cur23 riculum, or standards. 

24 (3) PUBLIC LIBRARIES.—An eligible entity that 

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1 tion shall use grant funds to carry out activities that 

2 enhance digital citizenship and media literacy skills 

3 in children. 

4 (4) QUALIFIED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

6 is a qualified nonprofit organization receiving a 

7 grant under this section shall use grant funds 

8 to carry out one or more of the following activi9 ties: 

10 (i) Activities in schools or public set11 tings for children in kindergarten through 

12 grade 12 that enhance digital citizenship 

13 and media literacy skills. 

14 (ii) Other activities to support, de15 velop, or promote the implementation of 

16 media literacy education programs, poli17 cies, teacher preparation, curriculum, or 

18 standards relating to enhancing digital citi19 zenship and media literacy skills for chil20 dren in kindergarten through grade 12. 

21 (B) RESTRICTION.—If a qualified non22 profit organization charges a school or other en23 tity for carrying out activities described in sub24 paragraph (A), the organization may not charge 


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1 more than the cost to the organization of car2 rying out the activities. 

3 (d) REPORTING.— 

4 (1) REPORTS BY ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Not 

5 later than 1 year after the date on which an eligible 

6 entity receives grant funds under this section, the el7 igible entity shall prepare and submit to the Assist8 ant Secretary a report describing the activities the 

9 eligible entity carried out using grant funds and the 

10 effectiveness of those activities. 

11 (2) REPORT BY THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY.— 

12 Not later than 90 days after the Assistant Secretary 

13 receives the report described in paragraph (1) from 

14 the last eligible entity to submit such a report, the 

15 Assistant Secretary shall prepare and submit a re16 port to Congress describing the activities carried out 

17 under this section and the effectiveness of those ac18 tivities. 

19 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that the Assistant Sec21 retary should— 

22 (1) establish and maintain a list of— 

23 (A) eligible entities that receive a grant 

24 under section 4; and 


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1 (B) individuals designated by those eligible 

2 entities as participating individuals, such as in3 dividuals serving on a media literacy advisory 

4 council described in section 4(c)(1)(A)(i) or in5 dividuals carrying out activities authorized 

6 under section 4(c) on behalf of those eligible en7 tities; and 

8 (2) make the list described in paragraph (1) 

9 available to those eligible entities and participating 

10 individuals in order to promote communication and 

11 further exchange of information regarding sound 

12 digital citizenship and media literacy practices 

13 among recipients of a grant under section 4. 

14 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this Act $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024, 2026, 

17 2028, and 2030. 

Æ 


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