WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), a senior member of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, released the following statement today in response to the FCC's proposal requiring the identification of foreign government-sponsored broadcast TV and radio content:

"Americans have a right to know when a foreign adversary is buying up time on airwaves owned by the American people.," said Rep. Eshoo. "I commend the FCC for finally taking this critical step to defend our democracy and protect American airwaves after a glacial pace of action. The U.S. Intelligence Community concluded in January 2017 that Russian state-sponsored media outlets RT and Sputnik meddled in our 2016 elections when they pushed anti-U.S. messaging over U.S. airwaves to undermine trust in our democracy. Eight days before a consequential election, the FCC is releasing a rule which should have been implemented by now, an action I've called for since May, 2017."

Rep. Eshoo has written to the FCC eight times over 3.5 years urging the agency to apply stronger broadcast transparency requirements to state-sponsored media entities, such as Russian government-operated outlets Radio Sputnik and RT. Eshoo first wrote to the FCC on this issue on May 3, 2017, exactly 1,272 days ago. Her correspondence with the FCC can be found HERE.

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