,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cai ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ab1 #bjba ,mr4 ,wicker introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended1 to strengthen the conspicuous statement required on certain informational materials1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,democracy ,dies in ,darkness ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,on ,february #ah1 #bjbj1 the ,department of ,state designated the ,china ,daily as a foreign mission for the purposes of the ,foreign ,missions ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #dcja et seq474 7#b7 ,under its most recent registration statement required under section #b of the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended1 the ,china ,daily reported receiving #d1gge1gib4ha from its foreign principal between ,november #a1 #bjai1 and ,april #cj1 #bjbj1 for the purpose of disseminating informational materials4 7#c7 ,between ,november #bjaf and ,october #bjbj1 the ,washington ,post received more than #d1fjj1jjj1 and the ,wall ,street ,journal received more than #f1jjj1jjj1 for services1 including advertising and printing1 as disclosed to the ,department of ,justice4 7#d7 ,beijing's ,global ,megaphone1 a special report by ,freedom ,house1 states that ,beijing is gaining influence over crucial parts of some countries' information infrastructure1 as ,chinese technology firms with close ties to the ,,ccp build or acquire content-dissemination platforms used by tens of millions of foreign news consumers44 7#e7 ,on ,january #ae1 #bjbj1 the ,washington ,post noted1 ,aware that the audience for the ,china ,daily might be limited1 ,beijing has adopted a practice it calls borrowing the boat to reach the sea to place its content in advertorial ,china ,watch supplements in respected newspapers '''4 7#f7 ,a #bjai report published by the ,school of ,advanced ,international ,studies at ,johns ,hopkins ,university details how ,china uses information campaigns to communicate its capabilities1 undermine the credibility of foreign political systems1 and correct misperceptions by addressing negative reporting4 7#g7 ,the #bjah annual report of the ,u4,s4-,china ,economic and ,security ,review ,commission recommends that ,congress direct the ,department of ,justice to clarify labels required by the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended1 on informational materials disseminated on behalf of foreign principals1 such as the ,china ,daily1 so that those labels must appear prominently at the top of the first page of such materials4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 foreign governments abuse paid supplements1 including paid supplements in the form of newspaper inserts1 to propagate disinformation to audiences in the ,united ,states through the information infrastructure of the ,united ,states2 7#b7 the conspicuous statement required under section #d7;b7 of the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fad7;b771 plays an important role in upholding the freedom of speech by-- 7,a7 clearly distinguishing the author of informational material for its readers2 and 7,b7 making the readers of certain informational materials aware that the informational material is paid content2 and 7#c7 regulations in existence on the date of enactment of this ,act allow foreign principals to place the conspicuous statement required under section #d7;b7 of the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended in an area that is less likely to be viewed by readers1 thereby defeating the purpose of the conspicuous statement4 #d4 ,modification of ,,fara disclosure requirements 7a7 ,definitions ,section #a of the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #faa7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7p71 by striking the period at the end and inserting a semi-colon2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7q7 ,the term paid publication supplement means any informational material for which an agent of a foreign principal pays to be included as a part of1 inserted within1 or attached to1 a covered publication based in the ,united ,states4 7r7 ,the term covered publication-- 7#a7 means a print or digital-- 7,a7 news publication2 7,b7 magazine2 7,c7 journal2 and 7,d7 informational publication2 and 7#b7 includes a blog or social media website that runs advertisements4 4 7b7 ,conspicuous statement ,section #d of the ,foreign ,agents ,registration ,act of #aich1 as amended 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fad7 is amended-- 7#a7 by inserting 7#a7 after 7b72 7#b7 in paragraph 7#a71 as so designated1 by striking ,the ,attorney ,general and inserting ,subject to paragraphs 7#b7 through 7#d71 the ,attorney ,general2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,a conspicuous statement required to be placed in an informational material under paragraph 7#a7 shall-- 7,a7 be clearly readable2 7,b7 have a font color that contrasts with the background color2 and 7,c7 be placed at the top of the first page of the informational material4 7#c7 ,an informational material that is a paid publication supplement shall include the following disclosure as a part of the conspicuous statement required under paragraph 7#a73 ,this supplement was paid for and prepared on behalf of name of agent of foreign principal1 an official publication of name of foreign principal44 7#d7 ,if a covered publication in which an informational material that is a paid publication supplement is published is not involved in the creation of the paid publication supplement1 the disclosure required under paragraph 7#c7 shall include the following statement3 ,name of covered publication was not involved in the creation of this supplement4 4