To develop a strategy for increasing access to independent information for Chinese citizens, to establish an interagency task force to carry out such strategy, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The INFORM Act (Informing a Nation with Free, Open, and Reliable Media Act of 2025) creates a whole-of-government strategy to break through China’s internet censorship (the "Great Firewall") and get independent news and information to Chinese citizens. It establishes a new Global News Service under the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to curate, translate, and distribute uncensored China-related news worldwide. It also creates a presidential interagency task force to coordinate censorship circumvention tools (like VPNs), Mandarin-language content development, and secure content-sharing technologies.
Who Benefits and How
- Chinese citizens gain greater access to independent information, circumvention tools, and uncensored news about domestic and global events
- U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) receives expanded authority and M/year in authorized appropriations for 5 years to fund the Global News Service and related programming
- Department of State receives M/year for 5 years for content development, circumvention programs, and surveying PRC populations
- Voice of America and Radio Free Asia gain coordination roles for Mandarin Chinese-language content delivery
- Open Technology Fund gains expanded mandate to develop next-generation circumvention tools targeting PRC censorship
- Independent journalists, media companies, and social media influencers producing China-related content gain a new funding ecosystem and distribution network
- Chinese diaspora abroad are specifically targeted for Mandarin-language news services
- Foreign media outlets in countries influenced by CCP state media gain access to English-language China-related news
Who Bears the Burden
- Chinese Communist Party / PRC Government faces organized U.S. effort to undermine its information control regime and expose governance failures and corruption
- U.S. taxpayers bear the cost of up to M/year (M over 5 years) in authorized appropriations
- PRC tech/censorship apparatus faces coordinated development of tools designed to evade its surveillance and filtering systems
Key Provisions
- Requires the President to submit a strategy within 1 year for increasing PRC citizens’ access to independent information (Sec. 6)
- Establishes the Global News Service as a grantee entity under USAGM with GAO audit authority and IG oversight (Sec. 7)
- Creates a presidential interagency task force with a coordinator to oversee strategy execution (Sec. 8)
- Authorizes M/year to the State Department and M/year to USAGM for fiscal years 2025-2029 (Sec. 8)
- Directs addressing the lack of information reciprocity between the U.S. and PRC in diplomatic engagement (Sec. 9)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establishes a comprehensive U.S. government strategy and interagency coordination framework for increasing Chinese citizens’ access to independent information by funding circumvention tools, creating a new Global News Service under USAGM, and expanding Mandarin Chinese-language content development to counter the PRC’s internet censorship regime.
Key Policy Areas
Foreign Affairs & Diplomacy, Media & Broadcasting, Cybersecurity & Internet Freedom
Primary Purpose
Establishes a comprehensive U.S. government strategy and interagency coordination framework for increasing Chinese citizens’ access to independent information by funding circumvention tools, creating a new Global News Service under USAGM, and expanding Mandarin Chinese-language content development to counter the PRC’s internet censorship regime.
Policy Domains
INFORM Act — Full Bill
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Chinese citizens seeking independent information
- USAGM and its broadcast entities (VOA, RFA)
- Department of State public diplomacy programs
- Independent journalists and content creators covering China
- Open Technology Fund
- Chinese diaspora communities
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Chinese Communist Party information control apparatus
- U.S. taxpayers (up to M authorized over 5 years)
- PRC surveillance and censorship infrastructure
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Sullivan (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Foreign media outlets in CCP-influenced countries, Global News Service, Global News Service (new grantee entity)
Chinese Communist Party censorship apparatus, Department of State, Executive branch (President and State Department)
Positive-direction: Department of State
Negative-direction: Chinese Communist Party censorship apparatus, Executive branch (President and State Department), PRC information control regime
Chinese citizens seeking independent information, Chinese citizens within the PRC, Chinese diaspora communities
Circumvention tool developers and internet freedom organizations, Open Technology Fund
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "rfa"
- → Radio Free Asia
- "voa"
- → Voice of America
- "usagm"
- → United States Agency for Global Media
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
- "the_department"
- → Department of State
- "the_coordinator"
- → Coordinator of the interagency task force appointed by the President
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology