An amendment in the newly House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would bar the federal government from providing support to film studios that censor products at the request of China’s communist regime.
The Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now Act (SCREEN Act) was included in the House version of the FY24 NDAA as an amendment.
“The Chinese Communist Party is exporting its totalitarian censorship to Hollywood, demanding that America’s film industry kowtow to its agenda,” Mr. Green told The Epoch Times.
“The CCP has one goal: Silence any voice that exposes its illegal, inhumane, and malign activities. That’s why my SCREEN Act is so important, and why I am pleased it passed the House today.”
The SCREEN Act would also require film companies receiving production assistance from the Department of State to report to Congress any previous films substantially edited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and ban the federal government from assisting any studios that have edited a film for the regime.
SCREEN Act Takes Aim at CCP Censorship
The issue of CCP censorship and interference in U.S. media has become an increasingly contentious issue as relations between the regime and the United States continue to spiral downward.Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in the issue of taxpayer dollars intended for defense being used to help Hollywood productions of companies that frequently censor films for the CCP.
Mr. Green’s SCREEN Act would take that sentiment further by prohibiting the whole of the federal government from funding any project by a studio that censors on behalf of the CCP.
It would also require Hollywood studios to provide written statements promising to not censor their films at the CCP’s request before they receive any assistance from the Department of State.
“I applaud the decision of the Pentagon to refuse government assistance to studios that censor American films at the request of the CCP, but we can do more,” Mr. Green said.
Studios Must Stop ‘Kowtowing’ to Communist Ideology
The introduction of the SCREEN Act follows two recent examples in which the CCP has sought to quash the expression of American filmmakers.Similarly, 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick” featured a bomber jacket with Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches, which was featured in the original 1986 film. A trailer for the second installment showed both flags removed and replaced with fictional emblems, however, drawing speculation that the move was aimed at appeasing Beijing.
The SCREEN Act, according to Mr. Green, will help American media companies make similar decisions in the future by ensuring U.S. taxpayer dollars are never used to subsidize the CCP’s anti-American ideology.
“This amendment will make permanent changes to protect American taxpayers from subsidizing film studios kowtowing to the CCP,” Mr. Green said.