Sponsors (2)
The bill expands and coordinates U.S. Mandarin‑language outreach and funds circumvention and news‑reporting programs to get independent information to PRC audiences—strengthening public diplomacy and press freedom—while increasing federal spending and risking diplomatic retaliation, user safety, and operational/legal burdens for partners.
PRC citizens (inside and outside China) and the Chinese diaspora will gain greater access to independent, Mandarin‑language news, fact‑checking, and information, improving awareness of human rights, governance issues, and alternative viewpoints.
Developers, researchers, nonprofits, and tech workers will receive increased funding and support to build, maintain, and distribute circumvention and secure‑sharing tools that help people bypass PRC information controls.
U.S. public diplomacy capacity will be strengthened through improved interagency coordination and sustained, dedicated funding for Mandarin outreach, making outreach more consistent and measurable across agencies.
U.S. programs to expand uncensored information and circumvention tools risk escalating U.S.–China tensions and provoking diplomatic or economic retaliation that could affect trade, cooperation, travelers, diaspora communities, and U.S. businesses.
The bill commits new federal spending (explicitly $75M/year FY2025–2029 plus other grants and program costs), increasing taxpayer burden and potentially diverting funds from domestic priorities or other foreign programs.
Promoting and distributing circumvention tools and content may put PRC users at legal and physical risk if those tools are criminalized, traced, or otherwise punished by PRC authorities.
Based on analysis of 16 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Daniel Scott Sullivan · Last progress February 5, 2025
Creates a U.S. government strategy, a presidentially appointed interagency task force, and a new Global News Service to expand Mandarin-language content and fund tools that help people in the People’s Republic of China access independent information. Authorizes multi-year funding for State Department programs, USAGM activities, Open Technology Fund support, and requires a public strategy within one year that pairs content with censorship‑circumvention and secure‑sharing technologies.