I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9850 
To protect and promote American values abroad, including the rights of 
freedom of speech and freedom of expression enshrined in the United 
States Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights, through the use of foreign assistance and by assuring U.S. 
law enforcement does not cooperate in censorship abroad. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. JORDAN, and Ms. SALAZAR) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs 
A BILL 
To protect and promote American values abroad, including 
the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expres-
sion enshrined in the United States Constitution and 
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 
through the use of foreign assistance and by assuring 
U.S. law enforcement does not cooperate in censorship 
abroad. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Funding or En-
forcement of Censorship Abroad Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) On March 5, 2018, U.S. FBI agents, in-
cluding a special agent, a Cyber Operations super-
visor, and a Department of Justice agent special-
izing in counterespionage to thwart foreign inter-
ference, met with a special council of the Brazilian 
Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to discuss efforts by 
the United States Department of Justice and the 
FBI to fight ‘‘fake news’’ and ‘‘protecting the integ-
rity of elections’’. 
(2) Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre 
de Moraes received and implemented recommenda-
tions on censoring content from several non-govern-
mental organizations (NGOs), including the Digital 
Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), which is funded 
by the U.S. Agency for International Development 
(USAID) and the U.S. State Department. 
(3) In 2022, the National Science Foundation 
(NSF), supported by the U.S. Congress, gave a 
$200,000 grant to the George Washington Univer-
sity for countering disinformation in Brazil and 
three other countries. 
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(4) Throughout 2022 and 2023, Justice de 
Moraes banned Paulo Figueiredo, a Brazilian jour-
nalist living in the U.S., from social media platforms 
in Brazil. 
(5) In August 2023, the Consortium for Elec-
tions and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), 
which is funded by the Global Elections and Political 
Transitions (GEPT) Program at USAID, formed a 
key partnership with the Superior Electoral Court in 
Brazil (TSE) and worked together to discuss censor-
ship strategies. 
(6) In December 2023, Justice de Moraes de-
manded that Rumble, a video-sharing platform with 
its corporate headquarters in the United States, re-
move certain creators from its platform. 
(7) Later that month, Rumble suspended its 
service in Brazil rather than comply with the unlaw-
ful demands of Justice de Moraes. 
(8) On April 3, 2024, Michael Shellenberger 
published the ‘‘Twitter Files—Brazil’’ sharing Jus-
tice de Moraes’s illegal demands for Twitter to dis-
close information about users in 2020. 
(9) On April 6, 2024, X (formerly known as 
Twitter), an American technology company, an-
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nounced that a Brazilian court had forced it to block 
certain accounts in Brazil. 
(10) On April 7, 2024, Justice de Moraes an-
nounced a criminal investigation into Elon Musk, 
the owner of X and a U.S. citizen, for spreading 
disinformation, obstructing justice, and continuing 
to allow people de Moraes banned to express their 
views on X. 
(11) On April 18 and 19, 2024, Brazilian Fed-
eral Police published two reports suggesting that Mi-
chael Shellenberger was under investigation for pub-
lishing the ‘‘Twitter Files—Brazil’’. 
(12) In August 2024, Brazil’s Supreme Court 
instituted a ban on X. 
(13) As of September 2024, the U.S. Depart-
ment of State has remained silent and neglected its 
mission to champion democratic institutions and 
human rights. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the United States 
Government should promote the universal values of free-
dom of speech and freedom of expression around the world 
and should not facilitate nor promote online censorship 
through foreign assistance programs and should not facili-
tate nor promote online censorship through cooperation 
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with foreign governments and their law enforcement agen-
cies. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE THAT ENCOURAGES 
ONLINE CENSORSHIP. 
(a) No assistance may be furnished under the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), for 
the benefit of any foreign entity if the Secretary of State 
has credible information that such foreign entity has en-
gaged in, facilitated, or promoted, or will imminently en-
gage in, facilitate, or promote censorship of lawful speech 
online. 
(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply 
if the Secretary determines and reports to the appropriate 
congressional committees that the foreign entity has 
ceased engaging in, facilitating, or promoting online cen-
sorship. 
SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERA-
TION WITH FOREIGN ONLINE CENSORSHIP. 
(a) No assistance or cooperation may be furnished 
by Federal law enforcement officials in response to a re-
quest from a foreign law enforcement agency if the Attor-
ney General has credible information that such a request 
will cause, facilitate, or promote censorship of protected 
speech online. 
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(b) In making a determination under this section, the 
Attorney General shall consult with the Secretary of State 
and, as appropriate, the Director of National Intelligence. 
(c) The Attorney General shall provide a report to 
the appropriate congressional committees on an annual 
basis listing and describing all determinations made under 
this section, which may be submitted in classified form. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations 
of the House of Representatives. 
(2) FOREIGN ENTITY.—The term ‘‘foreign enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) any agency, ministry, office, or sub-
division of a foreign government; 
(B) an international organization; or 
(C) a nongovernmental organization with 
operations outside of the United States. 
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