Sen. Cruz: ‘China Should Not Be Able to Set up Shop in Mexico and Blanket America With Propaganda’

HOUSTON, Texas - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced his intention to introduce legislation preventing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from exploiting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) loopholes to propagandize to Americans from radio stations in Mexico or Canada, including through stations entangled with Chinese state-owned media outlets such as Phoenix TV.

Upon announcing the legislation, Sen. Cruz said:

"China should not be able to set up shop in Mexico and blanket America with propaganda. Every year, the CCP spends billions of dollars purchasing news outlets and waging information warfare to extend the reach of its propaganda and whitewash the unflattering and politically inconvenient truths about its totalitarian regime. We are seeing this play out right now as news outlets across the country parrot Chinese talking points about the coronavirus pandemic - a pandemic that could have prevented. I look forward to introducing this legislation when Congress returns and closing FCC loopholes that allow China to wage their information warfare from across the border in Mexico."

The legislation would amend the Brinkley Act in the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the FCC from issuing 325(c) licenses to broadcast applicants who intend to change the language of the station they are purchasing, unless the FCC can certify that the programming of the station will never be influenced by a foreign government or governing party. Read the text of the bill here.

In September 2018, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai about this issue. Read the full letter here.

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