Rep. Eshoo Applauds FCC Foreign Sponsorship Identification Rules

Press Release

Today, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18) released the following statement after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that as of March 15, 2022, broadcasters are required to disclose when foreign governments or their representatives lease time on their airwaves. These rules are effective immediately for new leasing agreements and will need to be implemented within 6 months from the Federal Register publication date for existing agreements.

"At my urging, the FCC adopted new regulations which go into effect today requiring broadcasters to disclose when their content is sponsored by foreign governments. As Vladimir Putin wages a brutal war against Ukraine, any Russian attempts to broadcast their propaganda is unacceptable. I call on every station broadcasting Russian Sputnik (RT) under existing agreements to voluntarily come into compliance before the regulations require them to do so," said Eshoo.

Rep. Eshoo has written to the FCC eight times since 2017, urging the agency to apply stronger broadcast transparency requirements to state-sponsored media entities, such as Russian government-operated outlets Radio Sputnik and RT. Eshoo first wrote to the FCC on this issue on May 3, 2017.

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