The SCREEN Act would restrict how the State Department can help fund or provide technical access to film production by U.S. companies. Under the bill, a U.S. company may receive State assets or technical support for a film contract only if it provides a detailed disclosure about past submissions of its films to the government of China (PRC) or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for potential screening in China, and if it signs a written agreement not to alter the film’s content in response to any PRC/CCP requests. The bill also blocks funding if the film is co-produced with a PRC entity subject to content constraints, or if the company appears in a Congress-reported list indicating that content was altered at PRC/CCP request. A new reporting requirement to Congress would track which films were disclosed to China, which agreements were made to avoid content changes, and whether any content was altered, with annual updates. In short, the bill aims to prevent or discourage U.S. film projects from being produced with State assets when there are PRC/CCP content demands, and it increases congressional oversight over any such productions.
Key Points
- 1Limitation on use of funds. The Secretary of State may only authorize access to State assets or technical support for a film contract if the U.S. company:
- 2- (1) lists all films the company produced or funded in the last 10 years (or since enactment, whichever is shorter) that were submitted to PRC/CCP officials for screening evaluation,
- 3- (2) provides for each such film the title and submission date,
- 4- (3) enters into a written agreement not to alter the film’s content in response to, or in anticipation of, PRC/CCP requests, and
- 5- (4) submits that agreement to the Secretary.
- 6Prohibition on films subject to PRC/CCP content conditions. The Secretary cannot authorize support for or contract for a film if:
- 7- (1) the film is co-produced with a PRC entity that imposes content conditions, or
- 8- (2) the company is listed in the annual report as having altered content in response to PRC/CCP requests.
- 9Annual reporting to Congress. The Secretary of State must, within 180 days after enactment and then annually, report on:
- 10- (A) films disclosed under the disclosure rule (A) and their submission details (company, film title, submission date),
- 11- (B) films with non-alteration agreements and the involved company and title,
- 12- (C) any film where PRC/CCP content was altered in the prior 3 years, including the company and title,
- 13- (D) any film described in both (A) and (B) where content was altered.
- 14Definitions. The bill provides specific definitions for:
- 15- "appropriate committees of Congress" (Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs),
- 16- "content" (any description of a film, including the script),
- 17- "United States company" (a private entity incorporated in the United States or its jurisdictions).
- 18Scope and purpose. The act targets the use of State assets for film production and is framed as a safeguard against PRC/CCP influence over U.S. film content and screening in China.