Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Chris Coons (D-DE) announced that their bipartisan legislation, the Otto Warmbier North Korea Censorship and Surveillance Act, was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This legislation, introduced in June, provides $10 million annually for the next five years to counter North Korea’s repressive censorship and surveillance state, while also encouraging sanctions on those who enable this repressive information environment both in and outside of North Korea.
The bill is named after Otto Warmbier, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native who was wrongfully imprisoned by the brutal North Korean regime and died as a result of the injuries he sustained while in custody.
“The brutal treatment of Otto Warmbier by North Korean authorities that ended in his death was a powerful reminder of the brutality of Kim Jong Un’s regime,” said Brown. “This is an important step in the right direction to reaffirm our commitment to combating North Korea’s human rights violations against its own people and others who have been held captive, and to countering North Korean surveillance, censorship and repression.”
“I am pleased that the Otto Warmbier North Korea Censorship and Surveillance Act was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today,” said Portman. “Otto Warmbier was the best of America, the Midwest, and Cincinnati. This legislation will help ensure that his memory lives on and that the brutal regime responsible for his unjust death is held accountable for this and its myriad of other human rights abuses.”
The Otto Warmbier North Korea Censorship and Surveillance Act directs:
- No later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the president must develop and submit to Congress a strategy on combating North Korea’s repressive information environment;
- That the president may impose sanctions with respect to each person identified in the Act, via the blocking of their property in the U.S. or subject to U.S. jurisdiction and via ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole; and
- The United States Agency for Global Media receive $10 million for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to provide increased broadcasting and grants for the following purposes:
- To promote the development of internet freedom tools, technologies, and new approaches, including both digital and non-digital means of information sharing related to North Korea.
- To explore public-private partnerships to counter North Korea’s repressive censorship and surveillance state.
- To develop new means to protect the privacy and identity of individuals receiving media from the United States Agency for Global Media and other outside media outlets from within North Korea.
- To bolster existing programming from the United States Agency for Global Media by restoring the broadcasting capacity of damaged antennas caused by Typhoon Yutu in 2018.
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