[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4923 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4923
To impose sanctions on persons who knowingly provide content or media
services to sanctioned foreign propaganda outlets, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 8, 2025
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the
Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and
Government Reform, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose sanctions on persons who knowingly provide content or media
services to sanctioned foreign propaganda outlets, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Foreign Propaganda Act''.
SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 13846.
Executive Order 13846 of August 6, 2018 (83 Fed. Reg. 38939),
entitled ``Reimposing Certain Sanctions With Respect to Iran'', shall
have the force and effect of law.
SEC. 3. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PROVISION OF MEDIA SERVICES TO
SANCTIONED FOREIGN MEDIA ENTITIES.
(a) In General.--The President shall impose the sanctions described
in subsection (c) with respect to any person who knowingly provides
material support or media services, and receives compensation, barter,
or any other form of consideration therefor, to a covered foreign media
entity.
(b) Applicability.--This section applies to any United States
person or foreign person subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States.
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) The blocking and prohibition of all transactions in
property and interests in property of the person pursuant to
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
et 18 seq.).
(2) The prohibition on United States persons from entering
into procurement contracts or transactions with the person.
(3) The prohibition of financing assistance from the
Export-Import Bank of the United States to the person.
(4) In the case of a person that is an alien, the denial of
a visa or exclusion from the United States in accordance with
section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)(C)).
(d) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions
under this section with respect to a person if the President--
(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national
interest of the United States; and
(2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a
written explanation of the reasons for the waiver.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that includes--
(1) a list of all persons, including United States persons
and foreign persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, that have knowingly provided material support or media
services to any covered foreign media entity and a description
of the nature, value, duration, and scope of such transactions,
including any payments, barter arrangements, or third-party
facilitation mechanisms;
(2) any enforcement actions, designations, penalties, or
license denials initiated pursuant to this Act or other
applicable sanctions authorities during the reporting period;
and
(3) an assessment of to the extent the Government of Iran,
including the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and its
affiliates, has directly or indirectly financed or contracted
with any foreign news organization, media outlet, production
company, or content distributor--
(A) to disseminate regime-aligned narratives,
disinformation, or coercive propaganda targeting U.S.
or allied audiences; or
(B) to circumvent existing U.S. sanctions or export
control measures through third-party intermediaries or
subsidiaries.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Financial Services, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Finance, and the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate;
(2) the term ``foreign media entity'' means any media
organization that--
(A) is owned, controlled, funded, or operated, in
whole or in part, by a foreign government or an entity
designated pursuant to United States sanctions law;
(B) is designated by the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Director of National
Intelligence, as an instrument of foreign state
propaganda or foreign malign influence operations; or
(C) acts on behalf of, or in coordination with, a
sanctioned foreign person to disseminate
disinformation, suppress dissent, or engage in state-
sponsored information operations;
(3) the term ``knowingly'' means that a person has actual
knowledge of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result, or
should have known of the conduct, the circumstance, or the
result;
(4) the term ``material support or media services''
includes the provision of content, editorial services,
journalistic contributions, photographs, video footage,
syndicated materials, production infrastructure, backend
technology, distribution platforms, or any service or resource
that directly enables the broadcast, publication, or
dissemination of information; and
(5) the term ``United States person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence;
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or any jurisdiction within the United
States, including any foreign branch of such entity;
and
(C) any person physically present in the United
States.
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