I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2242 

To protect the internationally recognized right of free expression, ensure 

the free flow of information, and protect journalists and media personnel 

globally. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2015 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. PITTS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and 

Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To protect the internationally recognized right of free expression, ensure the free flow of information, and protect 

journalists and media personnel globally. 

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 ‘‘World Press Freedom 

5 Protection Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

5 Committee on Financial Services, the Com6 mittee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 

7 Homeland Security, and the Committee on the 

8 Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

10 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

11 Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

12 the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov13 ernmental Affairs, and the Committee on the 

14 Judiciary of the Senate. 

15 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per16 son’’ means an individual who is neither a citizen or 

17 national of the United States. 

18 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS 

19 FOR RESTRICTIONS ON THE RIGHT TO THE 

20 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND RESTRIC21 TIONS ON JOURNALISTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose the 

23 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to a for24 eign person if the President determines, based on credible 

25 information, that the foreign person— 


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1 (1) is responsible for severe restrictions on the 

2 freedom of expression or freedom of the press, in3 cluding the arrest, harassment, torture, mistreat4 ment, threats, fines, or the pervasive surveillance of 

5 journalists, blockage or censorship of the Internet 

6 that hinders the free flow of information from jour7 nalists, or other serious violations of the inter8 national right to the freedom of expression; or 

9 (2) has materially assisted, sponsored, or pro10 vided financial, material, or technological support 

11 for, or goods or services in support of, an activity 

12 described in paragraph (1) . 

13 (b) INADMISSIBILITY TO UNITED STATES.—The 

14 sanctions described in this subsection are the following: 

15 (1) ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the 

16 United States or to be admitted to the United 

17 States; or 

18 (2) if the foreign person has been issued a visa 

19 or other documentation to be used to enter the 

20 United States, revocation, in accordance with section 

21 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of the visa or other documentation. 

23 (c) CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION IN

24 IMPOSING SANCTIONS.—In determining whether to imVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:08 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2242.IH H2242

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1 pose sanctions under subsection (b), the President shall 

2 consider— 

3 (1) information provided by the chairperson and 

4 ranking member of each of the appropriate congres5 sional committees; and 

6 (2) credible information obtained by other coun7 tries and nongovernmental organizations that mon8 itor violations of human rights. 

9 (d) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.— 

10 The President may waive the application of subsection (b) 

11 with respect to a foreign person if the President deter12 mines that such a waiver is in the national security inter13 ests of the United States. 

14 (e) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NATIONS

15 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Subsection (b) shall not 

16 apply to a foreign person if admitting the foreign person 

17 into the United States is necessary to permit the United 

18 States to comply with the Agreement between the United 

19 Nations and the United States of America regarding the 

20 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc21 cess June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 

22 1947, and other applicable international obligations of the 

23 United States. 

24 (f) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The President 

25 may terminate the application of sanctions under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:08 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2242.IH H2242

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1 section (b) with respect to a foreign person if the Presi2 dent determines and reports to the appropriate congres3 sional committees not later than 15 days before the termi4 nation of the sanctions that— 

5 (1) credible information exists that the foreign 

6 person did not engage in the activity for which sanc7 tions were imposed; 

8 (2) the foreign person has been prosecuted ap9 propriately for the activity for which sanctions were 

10 imposed; or 

11 (3) the foreign person has credibly dem12 onstrated a significant change in behavior, has paid 

13 an appropriate consequence for the activity for 

14 which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly com15 mitted to not engage in an activity described in sub16 section (a) in the future. 

17 (g) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall 

18 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec19 essary to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 4. REPORTS BY PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall submit to the 

22 appropriate congressional committees an annual report 

23 that includes— 

24 (1) a list of each foreign person with respect to 

25 which the President imposed sanctions pursuant to 


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1 section 3 during the year preceding the submission 

2 of the report; 

3 (2) the number of foreign persons with respect 

4 to which the President terminated sanctions under 

5 section 3 during that year; 

6 (3) the dates on which such sanctions were im7 posed or terminated, as the case may be; 

8 (4) the reasons for imposing or terminating 

9 such sanctions; and 

10 (5) a description of the efforts of the President 

11 to encourage the governments of other countries to 

12 impose sanctions that are similar to the sanctions 

13 authorized by section 3. 

14 (b) DATES FOR SUBMISSION.— 

15 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—The President shall sub16 mit the initial report required by this subsection not 

17 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

18 of this Act. 

19 (2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

21 submit each subsequent report required by this 

22 subsection on December 10, or the first day 

23 thereafter on which both Houses of Congress 

24 are in session, of— 


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1 (i) the calendar year in which the ini2 tial report is submitted if the initial report 

3 is submitted before December 10 of such 

4 calendar year; and 

5 (ii) each subsequent calendar year. 

6 (B) CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT.—Con7 gress notes that December 10 of each calendar 

8 year has been recognized in the United States 

9 and internationally since 1950 as ‘‘Human 

10 Rights Day’’ and thus the importance of De11 cember 10 of each calendar year as the date of 

12 submission of the subsequent reports required 

13 by this subsection. 

14 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

15 shall be submitted unclassified form, but may contain a 

16 classified annex if necessary. 

17 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The unclassified portion of 

19 the report required by subsection (a) shall be made 

20 available to the public, including through publication 

21 in the Federal Register. 

22 (2) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CONFIDENTIALITY

23 REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO VISA RECORDS.— 

24 If the President decides to publish the names of in25 dividuals sanctioned in a report required under this 


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1 section, the President may do so without regard to 

2 the requirements of section 222(f) of the Immigra3 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with re4 spect to confidentiality of records pertaining to the 

5 issuance or refusal of visas or permits to enter the 

6 United States. 

7 SEC. 5. LIMITING VISAS TO EXECUTIVES OF STATE-OWNED 

8 NEWS AND MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS OPER9 ATING IN THE UNITED STATES. 

10 (a) POLICY STATEMENT.—Given the critical impor11 tance of the press freedoms and the free flow of cross12 border information for diplomatic, political, and financial 

13 relations globally, and for purposes of investors, busi14 nesses, and politicians making informed decisions, it 

15 should be the policy of the United States Government to 

16 respond strongly and persuasively to the growing number 

17 of restrictions, threats, detentions, harassment, arrests, 

18 pervasive surveillance, killings, and delays or denials of 

19 visas faced by foreign journalists and their domestic em20 ployees, especially the blockage and censorship of the 

21 websites of news corporations. 

22 (b) LIMITATION ON I–VISAS.—Section 101(a)(15)(I) 

23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1101(a)(15)(I)) is amended by inserting ‘‘subject to sec25 tion 214(s),’’ before ‘‘upon a basis’’. 


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1 (c) RESTRICTIONS ON VISAS TO EXECUTIVES OF

2 STATE-OWNED MEDIA.—Section 214 of the Immigration 

3 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by add4 ing at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(s) RESTRICTIONS ON VISAS TO EXECUTIVES OF

6 STATE-OWNED MEDIA.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien who 

8 is an executive of a state-owned media organization 

9 of a foreign state and is applying for a visa under 

10 section 101(a)(15)(I) during a fiscal year, the visa 

11 shall be refused if any United States journalist or 

12 news organization personnel were expelled, had visas 

13 denied, or faced intimidation or violence or other re14 strictions in the course of working in the foreign 

15 state during the previous fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub17 section, the term ‘executive of a state-owned media 

18 organization of a foreign state’ means a representa19 tive, operating in a managerial or executive capacity 

20 of a media organization that is majority owned, op21 erated, or controlled by a foreign government oper22 ating in the United States.’’. 

23 (d) TRANSITION RULE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may order the 

25 immediate revocation, delay, or refusal of visas 


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1 under section 101(a)(15)(I) of the Immigration and 

2 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(I)) issued to, 

3 or sought by, executives of a state-owned media or4 ganization of a foreign state before the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act in proportion to the expul6 sions, visa delays or denials, and intimidation experi7 enced by United States journalists or news organiza8 tion personnel in the course of working in the for9 eign state during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal 

10 year in which this Act is enacted. 

11 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph 

12 (1), the term ‘‘executive of a state-owned media or13 ganization of a foreign state’’ means a representa14 tive, operating in a managerial or executive capacity 

15 of a media organization that is majority owned, op16 erated, or controlled by a foreign government oper17 ating in the United States. 

18 SEC. 6. INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RELAT19 ING TO RESTRICTIONS FACED BY JOURNAL20 ISTS WORLDWIDE IN THE ANNUAL COUNTRY 

21 REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES. 

22 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended— 

23 (1) in section 116(d)(12) (22 U.S.C. 

24 2151n(d)(12))— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(D) for each country— 

7 ‘‘(i) a detailed description of the re8 strictions imposed against journalists and 

9 their domestic personnel, including a de10 scription of surveillance, harassment, de11 tentions, death threats or physical attacks, 

12 censorship, including on the Internet, deni13 als or delays of visas or travel documents, 

14 direct sources of pressure or intimidation, 

15 or any other restrictions that limit the abil16 ity to report information freely or restricts 

17 the free flow of information whether by 

18 governments, military, intelligence or police 

19 forces or criminal groups, armed extrem20 ists, or rebel groups; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) a brief assessment of the coun22 try’s practices with respect to foreign jour23 nalists and their domestic personnel by de24 scribing the country’s practices as ‘very reVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:08 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2242.IH H2242

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1 strictive’, ‘restrictive’, ‘partially restrictive’, 

2 or ‘mostly free’; and’’; and 

3 (2) in the first subsection (i) of section 502B 

4 (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) for each country— 

11 ‘‘(5) 

12 ‘‘(A) a detailed description of the restric13 tions imposed against journalists and their do14 mestic personnel, including a description of sur15 veillance, harassment, detentions, death threats 

16 or physical attacks, censorship, including on the 

17 Internet, denials or delays of visas or travel 

18 documents, direct sources of pressure or intimi19 dation, or any other restrictions that limit the 

20 ability to report information freely or restricts 

21 the free flow of information whether by govern22 ments, military, intelligence or police forces or 

23 criminal groups, armed extremists, or rebel 

24 groups; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) a brief assessment of the country’s 

2 practices with respect to foreign journalists and 

3 their domestic personnel by describing the coun4 try’s practices as ‘very restrictive’, ‘restrictive’, 

5 ‘partially restrictive’, or ‘mostly free’.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. RESTRICTIONS ON THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 

7 AND CENSORSHIP OF THE INTERNET TREAT8 ED AS A RESTRICTION ON TRADE. 

9 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that restrictions on 

10 the activities of United States journalists and media per11 sonnel and the censorship and blockage of websites and 

12 the cross-border flow of information damages the competi13 tiveness of United States corporations and limits access 

14 to information critical for investors, consumers, and others 

15 making market and financial decisions and should be con16 sidered a restriction of trade and an unfair competitive 

17 advantage benefitting foreign government-controlled news 

18 organizations and other news and media corporations. 

19 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Congress declares the 

20 following: 

21 (1) The United States Government should seek 

22 as part of international treaty negotiations and in 

23 negotiations and bilateral discussions with China, 

24 Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and other countries rated 

25 ‘‘Not Free’’ by Freedom House’s annual ‘‘Freedom 


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1 of the Press’’ survey, conditions for a free and unfet2 tered operation of websites, an end to visas restric3 tions for journalists, an end to harassment, intimi4 dation, and surveillance of foreign journalists and an 

5 end to the abuse of state secrets laws, including Chi6 na’s restrictions on the sharing of information be7 tween Chinese and foreign journalists. 

8 (2) In addition, the United States Government 

9 should seek to link expansion of the free flow of in10 formation with ongoing and future trade agree11 ments, and other bilateral agreements and commu12 niques, by seeking language eliminating any and all 

13 limitations on market access for news agency serv14 ices and eliminate any restrictions on cross-border 

15 data flows involving journalists and the media, in16 cluding in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Bilateral 

17 Investment Treaties, or any other trade negotiations 

18 planned or in progress and seek stipulations guaran19 teeing fair treatment of United States and other for20 eign journalists and their publications, consistent 

21 with the treatment received by foreign journalists 

22 operating in the United States and free and unfet23 tered operation of websites in China and other coun24 tries where they are blocked or censored. 


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1 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—In order to promote free2 dom of the press and recognize the importance of that 

3 internationally recognized right to economic freedom and 

4 economic security, it is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) restrictions on journalists and media 

6 websites and the censorship of the Internet are sig7 nificant foreign trade barriers; 

8 (2) the United States Trade Representative 

9 should include a list of United States websites 

10 blocked in foreign countries in reporting on trade 

11 barriers in its annual report on foreign trade bar12 riers; and 

13 (3) the United States Government should pur14 sue, at the World Trade Organization (WTO) , dis15 putes to end blockage of United States websites by 

16 foreign governments, which would include require17 ments for other members of the WTO to regularly 

18 publish a list of any banned or censored websites 

19 and provide website owners an opportunity to ap20 peal. 

Æ 


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