The Smith-Mundt Act is the 1948 federal law that authorizes the U.S. government to produce and distribute news, information, and cultural programming for audiences in other countries. Formally titled the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act, it created the legal foundation for Voice of America and related broadcasters and set the rules for whether their content could reach people inside the United States.1United States Agency for Global Media. Smith-Mundt Act Congress substantially amended it in 2012, lifting the longstanding ban on domestic access to those materials while keeping in place a separate prohibition on using the funds to influence American public opinion.
What the Law Authorizes
The act gives the Secretary of State and the head of U.S. international broadcasting authority to spend appropriated funds preparing and distributing information intended for foreign audiences. That covers news distributed through press outlets, publications, radio, film, the internet, and social media, along with information centers, instructors, and other channels.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461 – General Authorization
Broadcasting gets most of the attention, but the law also authorizes a wide set of educational and cultural exchange activities. The State Department can facilitate exchanges of students, teachers, professors, and technical specialists between the United States and other countries. It can share books and educational materials, support American-founded schools and libraries abroad, and assign Americans with specialized qualifications to work with foreign governments, provided the assignment doesn’t involve military training or combat equipment.1United States Agency for Global Media. Smith-Mundt Act
The stated purpose, written into the law from the start, is to promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries and to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people elsewhere.
The Original Ban on Domestic Access
From 1948 until 2013, the act drew a hard line between foreign and domestic audiences. The State Department could not distribute its program materials inside the United States. Lawmakers included this restriction because they worried that giving the executive branch a domestic media operation could cross into government propaganda aimed at American citizens.
In practice, radio broadcasts, documentary films, and other materials produced for foreign consumption were off-limits to most Americans. A narrow exception let researchers, members of Congress, and news organizations examine the materials on a limited basis. General public access, rebroadcasting, or screening inside the country was prohibited.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461 – General Authorization
What the 2012 Modernization Changed
By the early 2010s, the domestic ban had become nearly impossible to enforce. Content uploaded to a website for audiences in Pakistan or Nigeria was instantly accessible to anyone in Ohio with an internet connection. Congress addressed this with the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, folded into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 as Section 1078. The changes took effect on July 2, 2013.3United States Agency for Global Media. Facts About Smith-Mundt Modernization
The amendment did two things. It allowed the State Department and U.S. international broadcasters to make their materials available domestically upon request, with the requester reimbursing reasonable costs.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461 – General Authorization It also clarified that these agencies cannot be prevented from using a communication medium simply because American audiences might incidentally see the content. Posting a news story on a website for a foreign audience is legal even though Americans can read it too.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461-1a – Clarification on Domestic Distribution of Program Material
Anyone requesting content also has to secure and pay for any third-party broadcast rights or copyrighted material contained in the programming.3United States Agency for Global Media. Facts About Smith-Mundt Modernization
What the Law Still Prohibits
The 2012 amendment did not turn the act into a blank check for domestic messaging. The core prohibition remains: no funds appropriated to the State Department or U.S. international broadcasting may be used to influence public opinion in the United States.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461-1a – Clarification on Domestic Distribution of Program Material That language comes from what’s informally known as the Zorinsky Amendment, now codified alongside the Smith-Mundt provisions.
In practice, the agencies covered by the act cannot create programming aimed at Americans, cannot run advertising or social media campaigns targeting people in the United States, and cannot design content with the goal of shaping domestic political views. The U.S. Agency for Global Media’s internal guidelines require its networks to opt out of boosting content to audiences located in the United States and to take affirmative steps to ensure domestic audiences are not being targeted.5U.S. Agency for Global Media. Smith-Mundt USAGM Guidelines Making content available to Americans who ask for it is legal. Pushing that content at them is not.
The prohibition on influencing domestic opinion applies only to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, not to any other federal department or agency.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461-1a – Clarification on Domestic Distribution of Program Material
Which Broadcasters the Act Covers
The Smith-Mundt Act’s provisions flow through the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees several broadcasting networks. The best known is Voice of America, which broadcasts in more than 40 languages worldwide. The agency also supervises Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (including the Arabic-language Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.3United States Agency for Global Media. Facts About Smith-Mundt Modernization
Each network operates under the same fundamental constraint: its programming must be created for foreign audiences. The U.S. International Broadcasting Act of 1994 adds detailed standards requiring content to be consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives, conducted according to the highest professional standards of journalism, and designed to effectively reach significant audiences abroad.6GovInfo. United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994
The VOA Charter and Editorial Independence
Voice of America operates under a legally binding charter, originally enacted in 1976 and later codified as part of the International Broadcasting Act. It sets three governing principles. VOA will be a consistently reliable and authoritative news source with accurate, objective, and comprehensive reporting. It will represent all of America rather than any single segment of society. And it will present U.S. government policies clearly while also airing responsible discussion and differing opinions on those policies.7United States Agency for Global Media. VOA Charter
The charter creates a legal obligation for editorial independence that exists alongside VOA’s role as a government-funded broadcaster. Federal law separately requires the Secretary of State and the agency’s leadership to respect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasting services.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC Chapter 71 – United States International Broadcasting This is the mechanism Congress designed to prevent U.S. international broadcasting from becoming a mouthpiece for whichever administration holds power.
Recent Changes at USAGM
In March 2025, Executive Order 14238 directed USAGM to eliminate its non-statutory functions and reduce its statutory operations to the minimum required by law. The agency described the shift as a “statutory minimum posture,” terminating or allowing contracts to lapse and cutting discretionary spending. It reduced its personal service contractors from more than 600 to fewer than 100 and closed transmitting stations in São Tomé and the Northern Mariana Islands.9U.S. Agency for Global Media. USAGM FY2025 Agency Financial Report The statutory obligations under the Smith-Mundt Act remain on the books regardless of executive branch restructuring, though the practical capacity to fulfill them depends on resources.
Common Misconceptions
The most persistent online claim about this law is that the 2012 modernization “legalized propaganda against the American people.” That framing misreads what changed. The amendment made it legal for Americans to request and receive content already being produced for foreign audiences. It did not authorize creating new content aimed at Americans, and the statutory ban on using funds to influence domestic public opinion remained untouched.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 1461-1a – Clarification on Domestic Distribution of Program Material
A related misconception holds that it’s illegal to view USAGM content inside the United States. The agency itself has addressed this directly, confirming that since July 2013, its content can be made available domestically upon request whenever doing so is consistent with its statutory authorities.10United States Agency for Global Media. Rumors, Myths and Untruths Watching a Voice of America broadcast from inside the United States is perfectly legal. The restriction is on the agency targeting you with it, not on you choosing to access it.