Foreign Government-Sponsored Broadcast Programming

February 11, 2021

Foreign Government-Sponsored Broadcast Programming

Overview

Congress has enacted several laws to enable U.S. citizens

and the federal government to monitor attempts by foreign

governments to influence public opinion on political

matters. Nevertheless, radio and television viewers may

have difficulty distinguishing programs financed and

distributed by foreign governments or their agents. In

October 2020, the Federal Communications Commission

(FCC) proposed new requirements for broadcast radio and

television stations to identify foreign government-provided

programming.

Statutory Background

For nearly 100 years, beginning with the passage of the

Radio Act of 1927 (P.L. 69-632) and the Communications

Act of 1934 (P.L. 73-416), Congress has required broadcast

stations to label content supplied and paid for by third

parties so viewers and listeners can distinguish it from

content created by the stations themselves (47 U.S.C.

§§317, 508).

In addition, Congress enacted the Foreign Agents

Registration Act (FARA; P.L. 75-383) in 1938 initially to

combat the influence of foreign propaganda. Today, FARA

imposes registration, reporting, and record-keeping

requirements on foreign agents acting to influence the U.S.

government and public policy on behalf of foreign interests

(22 U.S.C. §§611-623).

In 1982, Congress enacted the Foreign Missions Act (P.L.

97-241) in part to “to facilitate the secure and efficient

operation in the United States of foreign missions … and to

require their observance of corresponding obligations in

accordance with international law” (22 U.S.C. §4301(b)(c)). Under this law, the U.S. Department of State may

designate media organizations controlled by foreign

governments as foreign missions. A designated foreign

mission must register property leases or ownership with the

State Department and must report all personnel. The State

Department may limit the number of visas granted to

employees of a foreign mission.

The FCC enforces the Communications Act of 1934; the

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforces FARA, and the

State Department enforces the Foreign Missions Act.

Radio Programming

U.S. federal agencies have characterized certain media

organizations of both the People’s Republic of Russia and

China (PRC or China) as extensions of those countries’

governments, contending that the organizations seek to

advance those governments’ interests within the United

States.

Radio Sputnik, a subsidiary of the Russian governmentfinanced Rossiya Segodnya International Information

Agency, airs programming on radio stations in Washington,

DC, and Kansas City, MO. Rossiya Segodnya has contracts

with two different U.S.-based entities to broadcast Radio

Sputnik’s programming. One entity is a radio station

licensee itself, while the other is an intermediary. DOJ has

directed each entity to register under FARA. Copies of the

Rossiya Segodnya’s contracts with both entities are

available on both the FCC and DOJ websites.

FCC filings and a November 2015 report from the Reuters

news agency indicate that China Radio International (CRI),

an organization owned by the Chinese government, may

have agreements to transmit programming to 10 full-power

U.S. radio stations, but independent verification is not

readily available.

Organizations that pay broadcast stations to air their content

are covered by 47 U.S.C. §317 and §508, both of which

apply to all sponsored programming. FCC documents

indicate that Radio Sputnik and CRI paid radio stations,

either directly or through intermediaries, to air their

programming. A 2018 Asset Purchase Agreement—

available on the FCC’s website—states in Section 7.18

“WCRW’s programming and revenue are obtained under a

programmer contract with China Radio International

(“CRI”) due to expire on December 31, 2018.” WCRW

serves the Washington, DC market.

In 2020, the State Department announced that the Secretary

had designated CRI as a foreign mission and limited its

employment of PRC nationals in the United States to two

people.

Television Programming

Until March 1, 2020, MHz Networks, a for-profit media

organization based in Virginia, packaged and distributed

programming for television stations throughout the United

States via its now-defunct broadcast television network,

MHz World. Information about the financial relationship

between the programming sources, MHz, and the television

stations that aired its programs is not readily available to the

public. MHz’s programming sources included governmentcontrolled entities in Russia (RT America), China (China

Global Television Network [CGTN]), formerly known as

China Central Television), Turkey (TRT World), and

France (France 24).

In recent years, DOJ directed the following organizations

that produce television programs to register as foreign

agents: (1) T&R Productions, a Washington, DC-based firm

that produces English-language programming for RT Media

(in September 2017); (2) CGTN (in December 2018); and

https://crsreports.congress.gov

Foreign Government-Sponsored Broadcast Programming

(3) TRT World (in August 2019). DOJ also identified MHz

Worldwide as a registered agent of France (based on its

work for France 24), but not of other countries. In its 2018

filings, MHz stated that it had registered under FARA

“despite concerns regarding the First Amendment

implications of any requirement for registration.”

Some U.S. public television stations broadcast

programming produced by Japan Broadcasting Corporation

(NHK), which states in its corporate profile that while it is

funded by the Japanese government, it is editorially

independent. Its U.S. subsidiary, NHK Cosmomedia

America Inc. has registered as an agent “because [the DOJ]

may view [its] operation ... as political activity within the

meaning of FARA.”

In September 2020, the State Department designated CGTN

as a foreign mission and limited its employment of PRC

nationals in the United States to 30 people.

FCC’s Proposed Rules

In October 2020, the FCC proposed new requirements for

broadcast radio and television stations to identify foreign

government-provided programming. Table 1 summarizes

the categories of entities covered by the proposed rules and

the public data sources that the FCC states broadcasters can

use to determine whether a program they are transmitting

falls into those categories.

Table 1. Entities Triggering Sponsorship Disclosure

Category

Category

Definition

Source

Government of a

foreign country

FARA

22 U.S.C. §611(e)

DOJ database and

DOJ reports to

Congressa

Foreign political

party

FARA

22 U.S.C. §611(f)

DOJ database and

DOJ reports to

Congressa

Agent of foreign

principal that has

registered with

DOJ

FARA

22 U.S.C.

§§611(b)(1), (c),

(d)

DOJ database and

DOJ reports to

Congressa

Foreign mission

Foreign Mission

Act

22 U.S.C.

§4302(a)(3)

State Department

public notices in

Federal Register

U.S.-based foreign

media outlet that

has filed report

with FCC

Communications

Actb

47 U.S.C.

§624(d)(2)

FCC reports to

Congress

Public Data

Source

Source: Federal Communications Commission, 35 FCC Record

12099, “Sponsorship Identification Requirements for ForeignGovernment Provided Programming, Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, FCC 20-146,” October 26, 2020. Some organizations

may fall into multiple categories.

Notes:

a.

The FCC seeks comments on whether to apply rules as soon

as individuals register with DOJ under FARA or, once

individuals appear on public lists, in recognition of lag time.

b.

The FCC’s proposal would apply to entities whose

programming is transmitted by a broadcaster, rather than a

cable or satellite operator, and therefore is inspired by, but

not based on, this statutory definition.

Standards of Review

Judicial Review. The FCC acknowledged that its proposed

disclosure requirements implicated the First Amendment’s

Free Speech Clause and could trigger heightened judicial

scrutiny. The agency argued that its proposal ultimately

comports with constitutional free speech requirements, and

could satisfy even the strictest level of judicial review. It

added that the government has a compelling and longstanding interest in ensuring accuracy and transparency

about broadcast programming sponsors, particularly foreign

government sponsors. The FCC claimed that it narrowly

tailored the proposed rules to achieve this interest.

FCC Review. In November 2020, the FCC’s Offices of

Economics and Analytics and General Counsel jointly

released a memorandum that formalizes the agency’s

procedures for incorporating economic analysis into its

decisionmaking.

Issues for Policymakers’ Consideration

In comments filed with the FCC, groups representing

broadcasters contend that the FCC’s proposed rules do not

comply with these standards of review.

Entities Affected. The National Association of

Broadcasters (NAB) asserts that to address First

Amendment considerations “more appropriately,” the FCC

could also require cable operators to transmit disclosures.

While the Communications Act’s sponsorship requirements

apply to broadcasters only, the FCC’s regulations

concerning sponsorship disclosure apply to both

broadcasters and cable operators (47 C.F.R. §73.1212(a)

and 47 C.F.R. §76.1615, respectively). Four of the entities

that might be subject to the FCC’s proposed broadcast

disclosure rules, RT America, CGTN, France 24, and NHK,

have distribution agreements with U.S. cable operators.

Implementation by Broadcasters. NAB, National Public

Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and

the organization America’s Public Television Stations

(APTS) all dispute the FCC’s claim that broadcasters would

“not be burdened unnecessarily in determining when [its]

proposed disclosures are required.” APTS and PBS state

that the FCC’s proposed rules “would impose due diligence

and implementation costs on broadcasters that are far higher

than necessary to achieve the narrow purpose of shining a

light on foreign propaganda.”

APTS and PBS note that the State Department does not

maintain a database of foreign missions, and suggest that

the FCC exclude this category. In addition, NPR states that

the “user interface [of DOJ’s FARA database] does not

facilitate relevant searches.” APTS and PBS suggest the

FCC create its own database.

Dana A. Scherer, Specialist in Telecommunications Policy

https://crsreports.congress.gov

IF11759

Foreign Government-Sponsored Broadcast Programming

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