New 'Charlie Kirk Act' Imposes 12-Year Delay on Public Access to US-Funded Overseas Media

The newly introduced Charlie Kirk Act takes aim at how the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)—the agency that runs networks like Voice of America—handles information about the U.S. that it broadcasts overseas. Essentially, this bill reinforces a long-standing firewall: USAGM can produce content about the U.S. and its policies for foreign audiences, but it is strictly prohibited from using those materials to influence public opinion inside the United States. This is a critical point for ensuring that taxpayer dollars aren't used for domestic propaganda.

The 12-Year Information Time-Out

Here’s where things get interesting for the average person who cares about government transparency. While the bill reaffirms the ban on domestic influence, it creates a structured, yet highly delayed, process for the public to eventually see the content USAGM produces. Specifically, the bill mandates that motion pictures, videos, audio, and other materials must be made available to the Archivist of the United States for domestic distribution 12 years after they were first shared overseas (Section 2). If the material was prepared but never distributed abroad, the clock starts ticking from the preparation date. Think of it like a government-produced documentary being locked in a vault for over a decade before you, the taxpayer who funded it, can see it.

Access, Fees, and the Archivist’s Gate

If you’re a researcher, journalist, or just a curious citizen trying to understand how U.S. policy was presented to the world in real-time, this 12-year wait is a major hurdle. Even when the content is finally released, the process involves fees. The Archivist is required to charge a fee that covers the cost of providing the material to the requester, with that money going straight into the National Archives Trust Fund. This means that while the public gains eventual access, it’s not free access, and the fee structure could potentially deter students or independent researchers from accessing the content. Furthermore, the USAGM must be reimbursed for the costs of setting up this transfer process, which is paid for by taxpayers (Section 2).

Who Gets a Sneak Peek?

Before the 12-year mark, the bill does allow a few specific groups to bypass the domestic distribution ban, though their access is limited. Representatives of U.S. press organizations, magazines, radio stations, and accredited researchers and scholars can examine the material at the State Department after it has been released abroad (Section 2). Members of Congress can also request to examine it. So, while a select few can review the content earlier, the general public must wait the full 12 years to view the videos and audio that were widely distributed across the globe the day they were released. This creates an information gap, limiting timely public oversight of the government’s international messaging efforts.