World Press Freedom Protection and Reciprocity Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7001 To protect and promote the freedom of the press globally. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 22, 2020 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse- quently 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 and promote the freedom of the press globally. 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 ‘‘World Press Freedom 4 Protection and Reciprocity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 8 son’’ means an individual who is not— 9 (A) a United States citizen; or 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7001 IH (B) an alien lawfully admitted for perma- 1 nent residence to the United States. 2 (2) INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED RIGHT TO 3 THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.—The term ‘‘inter- 4 nationally-recognized right to the freedom of expres- 5 sion’’ means those rights described in Article 19 of 6 the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights 7 and Article 19 of the International Covenant on 8 Civil and Political Rights. 9 (3) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ 10 means, with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or 11 a result, that a person has actual knowledge, or 12 should have known, of the conduct, the cir- 13 cumstance, or the result. 14 (4) MAJOR NON-NATO ALLY.—The term ‘‘major 15 non-NATO ally’’ means a country designated as a 16 major non-NATO ally under section 517 of the For- 17 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321k). 18 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 20 (1) Freedom of the press is a critical compo- 21 nent of democratic governance and enhances trans- 22 parency, accountability, and participation of civil so- 23 ciety. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7001 IH (2) United States Government efforts to protect 1 and expand freedom of the press and free expres- 2 sion, including online, is in the national interests of 3 the United States by supporting democracy, pro- 4 moting good governance and public health, miti- 5 gating conflict, and encouraging transparency and 6 civil society development around the world. 7 (3) Globally, journalists and media personnel 8 that receive and impart information and ideas, on- 9 line and offline, face increasing restrictions, threats, 10 censorship, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced 11 disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and other vio- 12 lence for exercising their right to freedom of expres- 13 sion in accordance with Article 19 of both the Uni- 14 versal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter- 15 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 16 (4) Impunity for attacks on journalists and 17 media personnel is an acute problem globally and a 18 primary challenge to protecting freedom of expres- 19 sion and freedom of the press. 20 (5) According to the press freedom rankings 21 issued annually by Freedom House and Reporters 22 Without Borders, countries with the most restrictive 23 media and information environments include Burma, 24 Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, the Philippines, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7001 IH Saudi Arabia, Dijbouti, Syria, Laos, Turkmenistan, 1 and Vietnam. 2 (6) The Government of Turkey, since a failed 3 coup attempt in 2016, has used terrorism and na- 4 tional security laws to shutter hundreds of media 5 outlets and jail dozens of journalists, compounding 6 the effects of more than a decade of expanding rul- 7 ing party influence over the ownership of main- 8 stream media in the country at the expense of inde- 9 pendent outlets. 10 (7) The Government of China maintains one of 11 the most restrictive media and information environ- 12 ments in the world and seeks to control free speech 13 inside and outside the country through censorship, 14 onerous media organization registration require- 15 ments, harassment, imprisonment, conditioning of 16 press credential renewals for foreign journalists and 17 media personnel and visa issuance for foreign jour- 18 nalists and media personnel on ‘‘positive’’ coverage 19 of China, and the operation of a digital surveillance 20 system so pervasive that both routine and sensitive 21 reporting activities and many aspects of daily life 22 are subject to government monitoring. 23 (8) Russia has continued to use sophisticated 24 tools to block and control information online and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7001 IH employ draconian laws to pressure independent 1 media. 2 (9) Expansion and export of new technologies 3 used for censorship and digital surveillance rep- 4 resents a notable threat to human rights, including 5 press freedoms, transparency, and democratic gov- 6 ernance globally, and constitute a critical challenge 7 to United States national interests. 8 (10) Other countries’ restrictions on the activi- 9 ties of United States journalists and media per- 10 sonnel, other countries’ censorship and blocking of 11 websites of United States news and media organiza- 12 tions, and other restrictions on the cross-border flow 13 of information— 14 (A) damages the competitiveness of such 15 organizations and limits access to information 16 critical for United States investors, consumers, 17 and others making market and financial deci- 18 sions; and 19 (B) should be considered a restriction of 20 trade and creating an unfair competitive advan- 21 tage benefitting State-owned or controlled news 22 and media organizations. 23 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 24 United States— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7001 IH (1) to advocate for detained and targeted jour- 1 nalists and media personnel in foreign countries, in- 2 cluding citizen journalists and bloggers; 3 (2) to call on foreign governments, in both bi- 4 lateral discussions and through multilateral organi- 5 zations, to end restrictions on the internationally- 6 recognized right to freedom of expression and to 7 abide by international commitments stipulated in 8 Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human 9 Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant 10 on Civil and Political Rights; 11 (3) to urge foreign governments to trans- 12 parently investigate and bring to justice the per- 13 petrators of attacks against journalists and media 14 personnel; 15 (4) to halt efforts to censor or block access to 16 news from United States journalists and media per- 17 sonnel and the websites of United States news and 18 media organizations; 19 (5) to highlight threats to freedom of the press 20 in the Department of State’s Annual Country Re- 21 ports on Human Rights Practices, as required under 22 section 116(d)(12) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 23 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)(12)), and other public 24 statements by senior Department of State officials; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7001 IH (6) to seek as part of bilateral diplomatic nego- 1 tiations globally conditions for a free flow of news 2 and information, internet freedom, and an end to 3 visas restrictions for United States journalists and 4 media personnel; 5 (7) to link expansion of the free flow of news 6 and information with ongoing and future trade 7 agreements, and other bilateral agreements and 8 communiques, by seeking language eliminating any 9 and all limitations on market access for news agency 10 services and the elimination of any restrictions on 11 cross-border data flows involving journalists and 12 media personnel, including via the internet; 13 (8) to ensure that pursuing bilateral relation- 14 ships with foreign governments, particularly those 15 with restrictive press and information environments, 16 is based on the principles of reciprocity across many 17 sectors of the bilateral relationship, including eco- 18 nomic, diplomatic, educational, religious, and in the 19 free flow of news and information; and 20 (9) to clearly differentiate, in official state- 21 ments, media communications, and messaging, be- 22 tween the citizens of a country and the government 23 of the country, for example, the people and culture 24 of China on the one hand and the Government of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7001 IH the People’s Republic of China and the Communist 1 Party of China on the other. 2 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF FOREIGN JOURNALISTS AND 3 MEDIA PERSONNEL GLOBALLY. 4 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 5 United States to consider foreign government officials re- 6 sponsible for, complicit in, or having directly or indirectly 7 engaged in serious restrictions of the internationally-rec- 8 ognized right to the freedom of expression, among these 9 arbitrary detention, imprisonment, enforced disappear- 10 ance, torture, fines, extrajudicial killing, and other sub- 11 stantial threats to the life and liberty of a person, as hav- 12 ing committed— 13 (1) gross violations of internationally recognized 14 human rights for purposes of imposing sanctions 15 with respect to such officials under the Global 16 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 17 U.S.C. 2656 note); and 18 (2) gross violations of human rights for pur- 19 poses of imposing sanctions with respect to such of- 20 ficials under section 7031(c) of division F of the 21 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 22 116–6; 133 Stat. 319; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note). 23 (b) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7001 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, act- 1 ing through the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, 2 Human Rights and Labor, to the extent and in such 3 amounts as are provided in advance in appropria- 4 tions Acts, shall— 5 (A) provide assistance to foreign journal- 6 ists and media personnel who are victims of se- 7 vere restrictions on the internationally-recog- 8 nized right to the freedom of expression and to 9 their families, including assistance to pay for 10 legal and other related expenses; and 11 (B) support training for foreign journalists 12 and media personnel globally, including training 13 to expand the internationally-recognized right 14 to the freedom of expression and defend the 15 civil and political freedoms found in the Inter- 16 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 17 (2) REFERENCE.—Amounts authorized to be 18 appropriated or otherwise made available to carry 19 out this subsection may be referred to as the ‘‘Glob- 20 al Press Freedom Defense Fund’’. 21 SEC. 5. PLAN TO NEGOTIATE RECIPROCAL ACCESS FOR 22 UNITED STATES NEWS AND MEDIA ORGANI- 23 ZATIONS GLOBALLY. 24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7001 IH (1) United States news and media organizations 1 and information portals are blocked or censored by 2 certain foreign governments while the United States 3 market remains open to websites of foreign news 4 and media organizations and information portals, in- 5 cluding State-owned propaganda organizations. 6 (2) The stark lack of reciprocity in market ac- 7 cess for United States news and media organizations 8 and country access for United States journalists and 9 media personnel limits constructive contacts between 10 the United States and the world and allows some 11 foreign governments unbalanced influence over their 12 people’s views of the United States and perceptions 13 in the United States of their policies and programs. 14 (3) Foreign governments with a sizable media 15 and information footprint in the United States have 16 a distinct interest in maintaining that footprint. 17 (4) Greater quotients of reciprocity in the flow 18 of news and information will be mutually advan- 19 tageous in United States relations with countries 20 such as China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Russia, Viet- 21 nam, and Turkmenistan by fostering interactions 22 that will create greater understanding, trust, and 23 transparency. 24 (b) PLANS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7001 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 1 a plan to negotiate access for United States news 2 and media organizations and their employees glob- 3 ally and work to enhance reciprocity for news and 4 media organizations operating in the United States. 5 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after 6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 7 of State shall submit to the appropriate congres- 8 sional committees a report that summarizes the plan 9 required under paragraph (1). 10 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 11 Congress that, in the interest of increasing access 12 for United States news and media organizations and 13 their employees globally and otherwise expanding 14 press freedoms globally, the President should 15 proactively pursue bilateral agreements with govern- 16 ments of foreign countries to enhance reciprocity for 17 news and media organizations operating in the 18 United States. 19 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 20 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- 21 sional committees’’ means— 22 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 23 Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on 24 Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Secu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:01 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7001.IH H7001 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 [Text truncated for display. 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