The Smith-Mundt Act is a 1948 federal law, formally the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act, that authorizes the U.S. government to produce and distribute news, cultural programming, and educational materials for foreign audiences. For most of its history it also barred the government from sharing that same material with Americans. A 2012 amendment softened that wall: agencies may now make the content available domestically on request, but they still cannot spend appropriated money to influence U.S. public opinion.
What the 1948 Law Authorized
Congress passed the Act on January 27, 1948, as the Cold War was beginning. It gave the State Department permanent authority for two activities that had been running on wartime footing: broadcasting news abroad and operating educational exchanges with other countries. The stated purpose was “to promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries, and to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC Ch. 18 – United States Information and Educational Exchange Programs The authorized tools included an overseas information service, exchanges of books and educational materials, and support for American-sponsored libraries and schools abroad.2United States Government Publishing Office. United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948
Lawmakers were uneasy about handing the executive branch a permanent capacity to produce persuasive media. Debate centered on keeping oversight of the books, art, and broadcasts the State Department sent overseas. The compromise built into the final bill was that the government could conduct public diplomacy abroad, but the same materials could not be turned back on Americans at home.
The Original Ban on Domestic Distribution
That firewall lived in 22 U.S.C. § 1461. Before 2013, the statute limited how broadcast scripts, films, and printed materials created for foreign audiences could circulate inside the United States. The government could not push these materials into domestic media channels; it could only allow public inspection at designated government offices, treating them more like archived records than active media.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 1461 – General Authorization
Congress tightened the barrier in 1985 with the Zorinsky Amendment, named for Senator Edward Zorinsky of Nebraska and enacted as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987. It added an explicit funding restriction: no money appropriated to the United States Information Agency, the predecessor to today’s broadcasting agency, could be used to influence American opinion, and no program material the agency prepared could be distributed domestically. What had been an operational rule became a spending prohibition.
Who Produces the Content Today
The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent federal agency formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, runs the day-to-day work authorized under Smith-Mundt.4U.S. Agency for Global Media. U.S. Agency for Global Media It oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and the Open Technology Fund.5U.S. Agency for Global Media. Networks The Secretary of State provides general foreign policy guidance; editorial and programming decisions sit with USAGM.
The Act also carries a preference for private media over government media. Under 22 U.S.C. § 1462, the government is expected to scale back its information activities where private outlets adequately serve the same function, and the statute states that nothing in the law gives the State Department or USAGM a monopoly over shortwave broadcasting or any other medium.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1462 – Policies Governing Information Activities
What the 2012 Modernization Changed
The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, introduced by Representatives Adam Smith and Mac Thornberry, was folded into Section 1078 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 and took effect on July 2, 2013.7U.S. Agency for Global Media. Facts About Smith-Mundt Modernization The core change is that USAGM and the State Department can now make their foreign-audience content available domestically upon request.8Congress.gov. H.R.4310 – 112th Congress (2011-2012): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013
The practical argument was simple. By 2012, anyone with an internet connection could already reach VOA broadcasts, RFE/RL articles, and other USAGM output. Supporters said the amendment brought the statute in line with technological reality.
The change is permissive, not affirmative. USAGM does not actively broadcast or market its content to American audiences; it can fulfill requests and make materials available. For content created before the amendment took effect, a separate track applies: those older materials transfer to the National Archives twelve years after their initial foreign release, and anyone seeking access must secure any necessary rights and cover the costs.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 1461 – General Authorization
What Restrictions Still Apply
The most important surviving restriction is the funding prohibition in 22 U.S.C. § 1461-1a: “No funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States.”9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461-1a – Clarification on Domestic Distribution of Program Material Handing over content when someone asks is permitted; spending taxpayer money to shape how Americans think is not.
The same section includes a rule of construction stopping agencies from self-censoring simply because Americans might see foreign-targeted material. The law cannot be read to block communication “because a United States domestic audience is or may be thereby exposed to program material, or based on a presumption of such exposure.” This provision applies only to the State Department and USAGM, not to any other federal agency.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461-1a – Clarification on Domestic Distribution of Program Material The anti-monopoly rule in § 1462 also constrains USAGM’s domestic footprint by requiring it to step back where private outlets already cover the ground.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1462 – Policies Governing Information Activities
The Repeal Effort
Modernization has not stopped generating debate. Representative Thomas Massie has characterized the 2013 change as ending “a prohibition on the federal government exposing American audiences to its propaganda” and has raised concerns about the potential for covert government social media accounts and podcasts aimed at Americans.10U.S. Representative Thomas Massie. Rep. Massie Introduces Bill to Protect Americans from Federally Funded Propaganda
Massie introduced H.R. 5704 in October 2025, titled the “Repeal the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2013.” The bill was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where it remained as of early 2026.11Congress.gov. H.R.5704 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Repeal the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2013 Defenders of the current framework respond that the law already prohibits using funds to influence domestic opinion and that the pre-2013 ban was unenforceable online, and they describe the amendment as a transparency measure.
The 2025 USAGM Restructuring
The Smith-Mundt framework faced its most significant real-world test in 2025. On March 14, 2025, the President signed Executive Order 14238, directing that non-statutory components and functions of USAGM “shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” and that the agency reduce to “the minimum presence and function required by law.” The next day, USAGM announced that most staff across the agency, Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and all grantee networks would be placed on paid administrative leave.12U.S. Agency for Global Media. U.S. Agency for Global Media Complies with Presidential Executive Order to Reduce the Federal Bureaucracy
The agency operated at what it called a “statutory minimum posture” for much of fiscal year 2025. Contracts and leases were reevaluated, activities were discontinued or consolidated, and workforce levels dropped through voluntary separation programs and broader federal realignment. Routine grant monitoring was suspended, and grantee communications were halted due to ongoing litigation. USAGM did not complete its required internal control testing under federal management standards for the year. By fiscal year 2026, the agency began reassessing how to carry out its mission within the authorities and resources Congress provided, and resumed some grant monitoring. Whether the statutory minimum posture satisfied the law’s requirements is a question courts and Congress will continue to work through.