U.S. Orders Electronic Media to Publish Foreign Government-Funded Programs in Counteraction to China’s Great Foreign Propaganda

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday that radio and television stations will be required to account for the content of programs sponsored or provided by foreign governments. According to a unanimous resolution passed by the commission, radio and television stations receiving funds directly or indirectly from foreign governments to broadcast foreign government-specified content must be announced immediately.

The current U.S. federal regulations, which were enacted in 1963, do not specify when and how broadcasters need to announce foreign government sponsorship, and Democratic members of Congress have been asking the FCC in recent years to take action in response. The FCC said in a statement that the new law would help increase transparency and allow viewers to understand that foreign governments and their representatives are using the airwaves to lobby Americans.

FCC Acting Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement that the Communications Act prohibits foreign governments from obtaining broadcast licenses, though. However, as you know, foreign entities still buy time on U.S. market radio stations, including programs funded by the Chinese government and programs funded by the Russian government in Washington, D.C.

This is not strictly a recent phenomenon, Rosenworcel said. Over the past few years, news reports of foreign governments buying time to air programming have increased exponentially. In addition, Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) has written to the FCC eight times, asking it to address the problem.

Last year, the FCC also denied an application by Mexican radio station XEWW AM to broadcast Chinese radio programming in Southern California. The Commission pointed out that XEWW AM was being used by Phoenix Satellite Television’s subsidiary, Hong Hui Capital, to promote Chinese Communist political propaganda to the Chinese in Southern California, but that the station tried to hide its relationship with Phoenix Satellite Television when it applied for landing rights.