S. 417 — INFORM Act

This section cites the Act as the “Informing a Nation with Free, Open, and Reliable Media Act of 2025” or the “INFORM Act” and sets forth the table of contents.

This section defines terms used in the Act, including CCP (Chinese Communist Party); Coordinator (coordinator of the interagency task force appointed by the President pursuant to section 8(b)); Department (Department of State); PRC (People's Republic of China); RFA (Radio Free Asia); USAGM (United States Agency for Global Media); and VOA (Voice of America).

This section states 17 congressional findings concerning the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) internet censorship and surveillance regime—commonly known as the Great Firewall—which blocks foreign websites and tools, enforces self-censorship, promotes anti-U.S. propaganda, and suppresses dissent while exploiting open internet environments abroad. The findings also cite evidence of growing demand among Chinese citizens for uncensored information, including VPN usage doubling in 2023, discussions during brief periods of access to unblocked platforms (e.g., Clubhouse in 2021), the 2022 White Paper protests, and recent social media comments expressing economic dissatisfaction.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. government should (1) prioritize developing a vision and strategy for engaging PRC citizens through timely, compelling Mandarin Chinese-language content addressing their daily challenges, PRC government policies, and CCP governance failures and corruption (including unexplained wealth of CCP and PLA officials and families); (2) increase federal agency coordination to develop and disseminate such content blocked by the PRC's censored internet; (3) prioritize both access to independent information via circumvention tools and secure content sharing within the PRC's censored ecosystem; (4) optimize these tools by pairing them with relevant content; and (5) counter the PRC's lack of reciprocity in online information and public diplomacy.

This section establishes the policy of the United States (1) to make increasing access to independent information for and engagement with the roughly 1.4 billion PRC citizens a national security priority that benefits U.S. priorities to promote human rights, the rule of law, and good governance in the PRC and globally; (2) to prioritize expansion and improvement of independent information development and dissemination to PRC citizens inside and outside the PRC, including by pairing it with circumvention and other tools; (3) to prioritize and coordinate Mandarin Chinese-language content development and dissemination and develop technical solutions to the PRC’s digital information controls; and (4) to work with like-minded partners and allies to develop coordinated strategies for increasing access to independent information for PRC citizens and to address the lack of reciprocity in information environments between the PRC and the United States and its partners.

This section directs the President to submit to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, not later than one year after enactment, an unclassified strategy (with a possible classified annex) for increasing access to independent information for citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) within or outside the PRC. The strategy must include (1) a plan to increase accessibility and adoption of circumvention and secure communications tools within the PRC, including assessments of technical challenges and research gaps; (2) an assessment of Mandarin Chinese-language content creation and distribution capabilities at the Department of State, the interagency task force under section 8, and other agencies, including accessibility, engagement, surveys of PRC citizens' interests, and plans to address gaps or duplication; (3) descriptions of improved coordination within the Department and across the interagency task force for content development and dissemination and funding external circumvention tools; (4) promotion of convergence between content development and circumvention tools; (5) development of networks with Mandarin Chinese-language content developers and influencers via programs outside the PRC; (6) an assessment of the efficacy of Department-generated content disseminated within the PRC and plans to improve it; (7) a plan for increasing digital engagement with PRC citizens outside the PRC via temporary uncensored internet access; and (8) a description of additional resources or authorities needed.

This section establishes the Global News Service as a grantee entity funded by annual grants authorized under section 305(a) of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.). The Global News Service must curate, translate into Mandarin Chinese and English, distribute, and make available content—created by or disseminated through Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, or other USAGM-funded or partnering entities—related to the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its malign global activities, in coordination with Voice of America and Radio Free Asia Mandarin services; prioritize outreach to media outlets influenced by Chinese Communist Party-controlled media and target the Chinese diaspora (Mandarin) and foreign media (English or local languages); and undertake other USAGM-approved efforts. Grant agreements impose restrictions on headquarters location, fund use, contract obligations, leases, administrative costs (minimized to federal-equivalent levels), and prohibit lobbying; the entity receives the same USAGM oversight as other grantees, is not a federal agency, and is subject to audits by the Government Accountability Office and the Inspector General of the Department of State. (As background, the U.S. Agency for Global Media oversees U.S. international broadcasting to promote democratic values and counter foreign propaganda.)

This section establishes an interagency task force, led by a presidentially appointed coordinator, to develop and execute the strategy described in section 6(a) and to increase coordination on Mandarin Chinese-language content development and dissemination, internet circumvention, and secure content-sharing tools specific to the People's Republic of China's (PRC) censorship regime. The section directs the Department of State to (1) oversee development and dissemination of compelling Mandarin Chinese-language content for PRC audiences via various platforms; (2) seek increased funding for internet circumvention and secure content-sharing tools tailored to PRC censorship; (3) seek increased funding for media freedom, investigative journalism, and content development, including a network of PRC-focused journalists and influencers; (4) increase volume of Mandarin content through Mission China platforms, for PRC citizens abroad, and on U.S. quality-of-life issues relatable to PRC (e.g., food safety, health care, government transparency); and (5) refine content and conduct periodic surveys of PRC citizens' interests. It further directs the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to amplify high-impact Mandarin content for PRC audiences, including through expanded Radio Free Asia programming on PRC political, economic, and social issues; prioritization of PRC disinformation via its bilingual fact-check lab; and provision of content strategy insights to the task force.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in diplomatic engagements with the People's Republic of China (PRC), to prioritize addressing the lack of reciprocity in PRC internet and information space access for U.S. government, private sector, and nongovernmental stakeholders—particularly journalists, diplomats, researchers, academics, internet technology and social media companies, and nongovernmental organizations. The section further directs the President, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to consider all available tools to address such lack of reciprocity.