Sec. 2. Findings
197 words·~1 min read·
/bill/116/hr/5830/ih/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Foreign governments have increasingly sought to extraterritorially intimidate American and non-American companies into policing media content and the free speech rights of staff, employees, and other associated persons. Because the extraterritorial advocacy for human rights abroad is a core tenet of American foreign policy and central to American national security, the growing extraterritorial suppression of speech of persons and companies represents a long-term threat to American interests.
Self-censorship by American companies and other nongovernmental entities in accordance with the stated or unstated wishes of foreign geopolitical rivals will only encourage more of the same. While China’s economic weight affords it unique leverage to seek to compel corporate self-censorship or retaliation against staff expressing contrary views, including the manager of a basketball team expressing support for human rights, other countries such as North Korea have also sought to stifle free speech through malign measures, including conducting cyberattacks against a motion picture studio that distributed comedic content regarding its leadership.
The United States Congress not only defends, but encourages, American persons and persons within the United States to be outspoken defenders of the rights of those around the world standing up against repression and persecution.