China Social Media Reciprocity Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1714 To provide authorities to prohibit the provision of services by social media platforms to individuals and entities on the Specially Designated Nation- als List and certain officials and other individuals and entities of the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 22, 2023 Mr. MAST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To provide authorities to prohibit the provision of services by social media platforms to individuals and entities on the Specially Designated Nationals List and certain offi- cials and other individuals and entities of the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘China Social Media 4 Reciprocity Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1714 IH SEC. 2. AUTHORITIES TO PROHIBIT THE PROVISION OF 1 SERVICES BY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO 2 INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES ON THE SPE- 3 CIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS LIST AND 4 CERTAIN OFFICIALS AND OTHER INDIVID- 5 UALS AND ENTITIES OF THE PEOPLE’S RE- 6 PUBLIC OF CHINA. 7 (a) AUTHORITIES UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL 8 EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWERS ACT.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203 of the Inter- 10 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 11 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 12 (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub- 13 section (d); and 14 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b) and except as 17 provided in paragraph (2), the authority granted to the 18 President by this section does include the authority to reg- 19 ulate or prohibit the provision by a provider of a social 20 media platform of a covered service to— 21 ‘‘(A) an individual or entity who, pursuant to 22 the exercise of authorities under part 594 of title 31, 23 Code of Federal Regulations, is on the list of spe- 24 cially designated nationals and blocked persons 25 maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1714 IH of the Department of the Treasury, if such provider 1 knew or should have known that such individual or 2 entity was on such list and that such provider was 3 providing such service to such individual or entity; 4 ‘‘(B) an individual who is a senior official of the 5 Government of the People’s Republic of China or an 6 individual or entity acting at the direction of such 7 individual, if such provider knew or should have 8 known that such individual was such a senior official 9 or such individual or entity was acting at the direc- 10 tion of such individual, as the case may be, and that 11 such provider was providing such service to such in- 12 dividual or such individual or entity, as the case may 13 be; 14 ‘‘(C) an individual who is a senior member of 15 the CCP or an individual or entity acting at the di- 16 rection of such individual, if such provider knew or 17 should have known that such individual was such a 18 senior member or such individual or entity was act- 19 ing at the direction of such individual, as the case 20 may be, and that such provider was providing such 21 service to such individual or such individual or enti- 22 ty, as the case may be; 23 ‘‘(D) an individual who is a spokesperson of the 24 CCP or the Government of the People’s Republic of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1714 IH China, or an individual or entity acting at the direc- 1 tion of such individual, if such provider knew or 2 should have known that such individual was such a 3 spokesperson or such an individual or entity was act- 4 ing at the direction of such individual, as the case 5 may be, and that such provider was providing such 6 service to such individual or such individual or enti- 7 ty, as the case may be; 8 ‘‘(E) an individual or entity who is an agent or 9 instrumentality of the CCP or the Government of 10 the People’s Republic of China, if such provider 11 knew or should have known that such individual or 12 entity was such an agent or instrumentality and that 13 such provider was providing such service to such in- 14 dividual or entity; or 15 ‘‘(F) an individual or entity who is or owned or 16 controlled by the CCP or the Government of the 17 People’s Republic of China, if such provider knew or 18 should have known that such individual or entity 19 was owned or controlled by the CCP or the Govern- 20 ment of the People’s Republic of China and that 21 such provider was providing such service to such in- 22 dividual or entity. 23 ‘‘(2) The authority granted to the President by this 24 section does not include the authority to regulate or pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1714 IH hibit the provision by a provider of a social media platform 1 of a covered service to an individual who is a senior official 2 of a Government of the People’s Republic of China de- 3 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) solely for legitimate emer- 4 gency alert purposes. 5 ‘‘(3) In this subsection— 6 ‘‘(A) the term ‘CCP’ means the Chinese Com- 7 munist Party of the People’s Republic of China or 8 any successor entity; 9 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered service’— 10 ‘‘(i) means, with respect to a provider of a 11 social media platform, any service provided by 12 the provider through the platform, including a 13 service that is publicly available and free of 14 charge (including permitting an individual or 15 entity to create or maintain an account or pro- 16 file); and 17 ‘‘(ii) does not include the ability of an indi- 18 vidual or entity to— 19 ‘‘(I) access the platform without an 20 account or profile; or 21 ‘‘(II) send or receive private commu- 22 nications on the platform; 23 ‘‘(C) the term ‘social media platform’— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1714 IH ‘‘(i) means a website or other internet me- 1 dium, including a mobile application, that— 2 ‘‘(I) permits an individual or entity to 3 create an account or profile for the pur- 4 pose of generating, sharing, and viewing 5 user-generated content through such ac- 6 count or profile; 7 ‘‘(II) enables one or more users to 8 generate content that can be viewed by 9 other users of the medium; and 10 ‘‘(III) enables users to view content 11 generated by other users of the medium; 12 and 13 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 14 ‘‘(I) any such website or other inter- 15 net medium that serves fewer than 16 100,000 users who access their account or 17 profile at least once a month; 18 ‘‘(II) an email program, email dis- 19 tribution list, or multi-person text message 20 group; 21 ‘‘(III) a website or other internet me- 22 dium that is primarily for the purpose of 23 internet commerce; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1714 IH ‘‘(IV) a software application (includ- 1 ing a mobile application) used solely to 2 communicate with others through instant 3 messages, audio calls, video calls, or any 4 combination thereof; or 5 ‘‘(V) a website or other internet me- 6 dium the primary purpose of which is— 7 ‘‘(aa) to allow users to post prod- 8 uct reviews, business reviews, or travel 9 information and reviews; or 10 ‘‘(bb) to provide emergency alert 11 services; 12 ‘‘(D) the term ‘senior official of the Govern- 13 ment of the People’s Republic of China’ includes— 14 ‘‘(i) each member of the State Council, in- 15 cluding the Premier, Vice Premiers, and State 16 Councillors; 17 ‘‘(ii) the minister and vice ministers of the 18 Ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, 19 State Security, Justice, Public Security, and 20 other ministries; 21 ‘‘(iii) the director, deputy director, or any 22 other high ranking official of the Hong Kong 23 and Macau Affairs Office, the Liaison Office of 24 the Central People’s Government in the Hong 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1714 IH Kong Special Administrative Region, the Liai- 1 son Office of the Central People’s Government 2 in the Macau Special Administrative Region, 3 the Office for Safeguarding National Security 4 of the Central People’s Government in the 5 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the 6 State Council Research Office, the Overseas 7 Chinese Affairs Office, the Taiwan Affairs Of- 8 fice, the Cyberspace Administration of China, 9 the State Council Information Office, the 10 Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese Academy of 11 Social Sciences, the China Media Group, the 12 National Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Na- 13 tional Radio and Television Administration, and 14 the National Press and Publication Administra- 15 tion; 16 ‘‘(iv) any other high ranking official in the 17 defense, security, or foreign affairs apparatus of 18 the government, including any ambassador and 19 any spokesman of any government agency or 20 department; and 21 ‘‘(v) any other official that the President 22 determines to be a ‘senior official’ for purposes 23 of this subparagraph; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1714 IH ‘‘(E) the term ‘senior member of the CCP’ in- 1 cludes each member of the CCP Central Committee, 2 including each member of the CCP Politburo (in- 3 cluding the Politburo Standing Committee and the 4 General Secretary), the Central Military Commission 5 (CMC), the Secretariat of the Central Committee, 6 the Central National Security Commission, Leading 7 Small Groups and their related work offices, the 8 Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the 9 General Office, the Organization Department, the 10 Publicity Department, the International Liaison De- 11 partment, the United Front Work Department, the 12 External Propaganda Office of the Chinese Com- 13 munist Party Central Committee, the People’s Daily, 14 the Central Party School, the Central Policy Re- 15 search Office, the Central Taiwan Work Office, and 16 any other central-level CCP body.’’. 17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 18 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that 19 is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 20 Act. 21 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 24 President shall, except as provided in paragraph (2), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1714 IH prohibit the provision by a provider of a social media 1 platform of a covered service to any individual or en- 2 tity described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), 3 (E), or (F) of paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of sec- 4 tion 203 of the International Emergency Economic 5 Powers Act (as added by subsection (a) of this sec- 6 tion). 7 (2) WAIVER.—The President may waive the 8 prohibition required by this subsection with respect 9 to an individual or entity if the President certifies to 10 the appropriate congressional committees that the 11 Government of the People’s Republic of China and 12 the Chinese Communist Party have verifiably re- 13 moved prohibitions on officials of the United States 14 Government from accessing, using, or participating 15 in social media platforms in the People’s Republic of 16 China, including by removing all forms of censorship 17 that prohibit persons in the People’s Republic of 18 China from accessing social media platforms or view- 19 ing content generated by such United States Gov- 20 ernment officials or United States persons on social 21 media platforms. 22 (3) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 23 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter- 24 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1714 IH U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 1 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 2 violation of regulations promulgated to carry out 3 this subsection or the sanctions imposed pursuant to 4 this subsection to the same extent that such pen- 5 alties apply to a person that commits an unlawful 6 act described in section 206(a) of that Act. 7 (c) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, not 9 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 10 of this Act, prescribe regulations as necessary for 11 the implementation of this section and the amend- 12 ments made by this section. 13 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—No later 14 than 10 days before the prescription of regulations 15 under paragraph (1), the President shall notify the 16 appropriate congressional committees regarding the 17 proposed regulations and the provisions this section 18 and the amendments made by this section that the 19 regulations are implementing. 20 (d) SUNSET.—The President’s authority to issue 21 waivers or licenses with respect to sanctions required by 22 subsection (b) or pursuant to sections 203 and 205 of the 23 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 24 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) with regard to prohibitions re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1714.IH H1714 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1714 IH quired by subsection (b) shall cease to apply beginning on 1 the date that is 2 year after the date of enactment of this 2 Act. 3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 5 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 6 mittees’’ means— 7 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 8 the Committee on Financial Services of the 9 House of Representatives; and 10 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 11 and the Committee on Banking of the Senate. 12 (2) COVERED SERVICE; SOCIAL MEDIA PLAT- 13 FORM.—The terms ‘‘covered service’’ and ‘‘social [Text truncated for display. 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