60-647: The United States Agency for Global Media ( USAGM ), known until 2018 as the Broadcasting Board of Governors ( BBG ), is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information. It is considered an arm of U.S. diplomacy . The USAGM supervises Voice of America (VOA) and Office of Cuba Broadcasting as well as state-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Radio Free Asia , Middle East Broadcasting Networks and Open Technology Fund . The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
120-633: A Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President. There is a further distinction between independent executive agencies and independent regulatory agencies, which have been assigned rulemaking responsibilities or authorities by Congress. The Paperwork Reduction Act lists 19 enumerated "independent regulatory agencies", such as the Securities and Exchange Commission , the Federal Reserve ,
180-493: A board that cannot be appointed all at once, and the board can be required to be bipartisan. Presidential attempts to remove independent agency officials have generated most of the important Supreme Court legal opinions in this area. In 1935, the Supreme Court in the case of Humphrey's Executor v. United States decided that although the president had the power to remove officials from agencies that were "an arm or an eye of
240-573: A daily radio program of sports, music, and local and international news. In a January 2015 interview with The New York Times , the then newly appointed CEO of the BBG, Andrew Lack, said "We are facing a number of challenges from entities like Russia Today which is out there pushing a point of view, the Islamic State in the Middle East and groups like Boko Haram . But I firmly believe that this agency has
300-519: A journalist and writer, began the VOA's first radio show by saying "We bring you voices from America. Today, and daily from now on, we shall speak to you about America and the War. The news may be good for us. The news may be bad. But we shall tell you the truth." Then, in 1950, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) went on the air. The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) was started in 1985. Radio Free Asia (RFA)
360-442: A member is limited. Established through separate statutes passed by Congress , each respective statutory grant of authority defines the goals the agency must work towards, as well as what substantive areas, if any, over which it may have the power of rulemaking. These agency rules (or regulations), when in force, have the power of federal law. Independent agencies exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by
420-567: A more crucial time." OTF had $ 2 million of funding from the USAGM to assist with the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests , but this funding was frozen by USAGM CEO Michael Pack in June 2020 as China was preparing to introduce a new national security law for Hong Kong . On June 17, 2020, the newly appointed head of USAGM, Michael Pack , fired the board of OTF and CEO Libby Liu . Liu had already tendered her resignation on June 13, 2020, effective July 13, 2020, on
480-695: A program of Radio Free Asia . The Open Technology Fund was started in 2012 by Libby Liu , then president of Radio Free Asia (RFA), as a pilot program within RFA to help better protect reporters and sources for the news organization with enhanced digital security technology. Under U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , the State Department adopted a policy of supporting global internet freedom initiatives. At this time, RFA began looking into technologies that helped their audiences avoid censorship and surveillance. Journalist Eli Lake argued that Clinton's policy
540-571: A program that focuses on women's issues and rights in the Arab world. To oversee Arabic broadcasts, the Middle East Broadcasting Network , Inc (MBN) was initiated in 2005. Other networks were also expanded under the BBG. Voice of America worked with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to launch Radio Farda , a Persian-language radio program targeting youth. In 2006, VOA initiated TV Ashna, a one-hour televised news broadcast, and Radio Deewa,
600-537: A role to play in facing those challenges." The board of USAGM has an advisory role. It previously supervised USAGM media networks directly, but was replaced with a single appointed chief executive officer (CEO) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 , passed in December 2016. In 2018, the BBG changed its name to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). The name change
660-427: A second law firm, Caplin & Drysdale, had also been granted a similar no-bid contract in possible violation of federal contracting regulations for a total cost of $ 4 million. On January 20, 2021, journalist Kelu Chao was appointed acting CEO of the USAGM, replacing outgoing CEO Michael Pack . In September 2022, Amanda Bennett , a journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, received bipartisan confirmation by
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#1732859351533720-556: A separate issue regarding the usage of closed-source software. The new board was named, consisting of Jonathan Alexandre (Senior Counsel, Liberty Counsel Action ), Robert Bowes (Senior Advisor to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), Bethany Kozma (Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Agency for International Development), Rachel Semmel (Communications Director, Office of Management and Budget), Emily Newman (Chief of Staff, USAGM), and Pack as chairman. The next day,
780-503: A single CEO. The board, officially renamed as the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, was reduced to five members appointed by the president to serve in an advisory role. Previously appointed board members in excess of five could continue to serve, but would not be replaced when their term expired. Under the 2016 reform legislation, any new agency CEO is to be nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by
840-437: A single director, administrator, or secretary appointed by the president of the United States , independent agencies (in the narrower sense of being outside presidential control) almost always have a commission, board, or similar collegial body consisting of five to seven members who share power over the agency. (This is why many independent agencies include the word "Commission" or "Board" in their name.) The president appoints
900-472: Is to "support open technologies and communities that increase free expression, circumvent censorship , and obstruct repressive surveillance as a way to promote human rights and open societies." As of November 2019, the Open Technology Fund became an independent nonprofit corporation and a grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media . Until its formation as an independent entity, it had operated as
960-753: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation , and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . Generally, the heads of independent regulatory agencies can only be removed for cause, but Cabinet members and heads of independent executive agencies, such as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency , serve "at the pleasure of the president" and can be removed without cause. The degree to which
1020-478: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Senate Committee on Foreign Relations . All six members shall not be regular, full-time employees of the U.S. government, and be appointed on the basis of being distinguished in the fields of public diplomacy, mass communications, print, broadcast or digital media, or foreign affairs. These six are appointed to a single term of four years, but they may continue to serve on
1080-654: The Inspector General of the US Department of State . The letter said that Pack had hired the McGuireWoods law firm to investigate USAGM employees and the OTF at a cost of over $ 2 million in the last quarter of 2020, bypassing US government investigators including USAGM's own Office of Human Resources, and called for further investigation of what it termed a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars. The Washington Post later reported that
1140-426: The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent agency of the U.S. government. The OTF is sustained by annual grants from the USAGM, which originate from yearly U.S. Congressional appropriations for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. According to the OTF, it works with other publicly funded programs to fulfill a U.S. Congressional mandate to sustain and increase global freedom of information on
1200-710: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia blocked the findings in an emergency stay, warning that these actions could endanger the work of activists against Internet censorship in countries with repressive government. On October 16, 2020, in a separate case, the DC Superior Court ruled that the changes were unlawful, reinstated the previous board, and ruled that any changes the new board made were invalid. Beginning in August 2020, OTF came under increasing pressure from Pack and USAGM leadership. According to Axios, this
1260-407: The commissioners or board members , subject to Senate confirmation, but they often serve terms that are staggered and longer than a four-year presidential term, meaning that most presidents will not have the opportunity to appoint all the commissioners of a given independent agency. In addition, most independent agencies have a statutory requirement of bipartisan membership on the commission, so
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#17328593515331320-464: The federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President . In a narrower sense, the term refers only to those independent agencies that, while considered part of the executive branch , have regulatory or rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or
1380-612: The Agency says will enable them to continue their "vital mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy." This is an increase of $ 29.6 million from the 2022 requested level. In February 2010, BBG Executive Director Jeff Trimble collaborated with the National Security Council to publish a VOA statement about Iran's jamming of international satellites. In an email to Foreign Policy magazine, BBG's Public Affairs Director responded to
1440-556: The Internet with public funds. The OTF funds third-party audits for all the code -related projects it supports. It has also offered to fund audits of "non-OTF supported projects that are in use by individuals and organizations under threat of censorship/surveillance". Notable projects whose audits the OTF has sponsored include Cryptocat , Commotion Wireless , TextSecure , GlobaLeaks , MediaWiki , OpenPGP.js, Nitrokey , Ricochet and Signal . The OTF also matched donations to
1500-556: The Internet." The BBG received $ 10 million from Congress for the purpose of fighting Internet censorship in China and other countries. The agency has $ 2 million earmarked to the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests through the Open Technology Fund . This funding was frozen in June 2020 as China was preparing to introduce a new national security law for Hong Kong . President Biden's budget request for 2023 includes $ 840 million for USAGM, which
1560-463: The President has the power to use executive orders to set policy for independent executive agencies is disputed. Many orders specifically exempt independent agencies, but some do not. Executive Order 12866 has been a particular matter of controversy; it requires cost-benefit analysis for certain regulatory actions. In a narrower sense, the term independent agency refers only to these independent regulatory agencies that, while considered part of
1620-587: The Trump administration's unclear positions on Internet freedom issues. However, the OTF continued to receive Congressional funding under the Trump administration . In November 2019, OTF announced it had become an independent nonprofit corporation. The OTF has funded digital privacy and security technology, including The Tor Project , Signal , and other encryption projects. In June 2020, Libby Liu resigned as CEO of OTF (see § Dispute over board ). Initial funding
1680-426: The U.S. Agency for Global Media, OTF's impact by 2019 was global, with over 2 billion people using OTF-supported technology daily, and more than two-thirds of all mobile users having OTF-incubated technology on their devices. "As authoritarian states worldwide increasingly attempt to control what their citizens read, write, and even share online," said OTF CEO Libby Liu, "this next stage in OTF's growth could not come at
1740-399: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report about USAGM's organization. As a federal agency, USAGM's budget request is part of the president's budget request to Congress. During the federal funding dispute for the fiscal year 2011, President Barack Obama sided with the BBG agreeing to language that the organization would "expand unrestricted access to information on
1800-509: The U.S. Senate to become CEO. Bennett was sworn in as CEO on December 6, 2022. USAGM is led by a single chief executive officer appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate . Until 2016, it was headed by a bi-partisan board with nine members; eight were appointed by the president with Senate confirmation, and the ninth member ex officio was the Secretary of State . By law, no more than four members could be from
1860-648: The U.S. Senate with authority to select key agency personnel. Former USAGM CEO John F. Lansing , who had been selected and approved in 2015 by the BBG Board holding a Democratic majority during the Obama administration, was not nominated by President Obama nor confirmed by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, as this was not required under previous legislation. In June 2018, President Trump announced his intention to nominate documentary film producer Michael Pack to head
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1920-514: The agency. He was confirmed by the Senate two years later, and served from June 5, 2020 until January 20, 2021, when he was asked to resign at the request of newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden . President Biden then appointed Kelu Chao as acting USAGM CEO. President Biden then nominated Amanda Bennett for CEO. She received bipartisan confirmation from the U.S. Senate in September 2022 and was sworn into
1980-542: The auditing of TrueCrypt . In 2014, the OTF reported that it had funded more than 30 technology code audits over the past three years, identifying 185 privacy and security vulnerabilities in both OTF and non-OTF-funded projects. In 2015, The Tor Project announced that OTF would sponsor a bug bounty program coordinated by HackerOne . The program was initially invite-only and focuses on finding vulnerabilities that are specific to The Tor Project's applications. In October 2019, OTF Technology Director Sarah Aoun discussed
2040-420: The board fired president Laura Cunningham. On June 23, 2020, District of Columbia attorney general Karl A. Racine filed suit under the District's Nonprofit Corporations Act to reverse Pack's replacement of the OTF board. The lawsuit alleged that the actions violated the "firewall" clause in federal communications regulations that shield government news agencies from political interference. On July 21, 2020,
2100-432: The board until a successor is confirmed. Only three of these may be affiliated with the same political party. The President designates one member to serve as chairperson, with the advice and consent of the Senate. A majority of the members of the board constitutes a quorum, when excluding the Secretary of State. The current board members as of September 27, 2024: Past members of the board have included: In October 2021,
2160-486: The circumstances under which the president can remove commissioners of independent agencies, if the independent agency exercises any executive powers like enforcement, and most of them do, Congress cannot reserve removal power over executive officers to itself. Constitutionally, Congress can only remove officers through impeachment proceedings. Members of Congress cannot serve as commissioners on independent agencies that have executive powers, nor can Congress itself appoint
2220-531: The commissioners – the Appointments Clause of the Constitution vests that power in the president. The Senate does participate, however, in appointments through " advice and consent ", which occurs through confirmation hearings and votes on the president's nominees. These agencies are not represented in the cabinet and are not part of the Executive Office of the president: Although not officially part of
2280-409: The controversy, stating "the BBG 'firewall' served to protect the integrity and credibility of our journalistic products. An official policy statement by a senior management official of the agency is not a journalistic product." Later that year, Senator Tom Coburn held up the Obama administration's appointments of Michael P. Meehan and Dana Perino to the board, with the aim of drawing attention to
2340-435: The executive branch, have rulemaking authority and are insulated from presidential control, usually because the president's power to dismiss the agency head or a member is limited. Independent agencies can be distinguished from the federal executive departments and other executive agencies by their structural and functional characteristics. Their officers can be protected from removal by the president, they can be controlled by
2400-566: The executive branch, these agencies are required by federal statute to release certain information about their programs and activities into the Federal Register , the daily journal of government activities: [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from Independent Agencies . USA.gov . Open Technology Fund The Open Technology Fund ( OTF ) is an American nonprofit corporation that aims to support global Internet freedom technologies. Its mission
2460-608: The executive", it upheld statutory limitations on the president's power to remove officers of administrative bodies that performed quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial functions, such as the Federal Trade Commission. Presidents normally do have the authority to remove regular executive agency heads at will , but they must meet the statutory requirements for removal of commissioners of independent agencies, such as demonstrating incapacity, neglect of duty , malfeasance , or other good cause . While most executive agencies have
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2520-419: The findings of OTF-funded research into a Chinese government mobile application, telling ABC News that the app essentially amounts to a "surveillance device in your pocket." "The access itself is significant", OTF Research Director Adam Lynn told The Washington Post . "The fact that they've gone to these lengths [to hide it] only further heightens the scrutiny around this." According to its funding agency,
2580-479: The label "causes unwarranted and unjustified concern about the accuracy and objectivity of [its] news coverage". 38°53′14.4″N 77°1′2.0″W / 38.887333°N 77.017222°W / 38.887333; -77.017222 Independent agency of the United States government [REDACTED] [REDACTED] In the United States government , independent agencies are agencies that exist outside
2640-430: The new office. On August 20, OTF sued USAGM in the U.S. Court for Federal Claims for withholding nearly $ 20 million in previously agreed grants. On October 15, summary judgment was granted nullifying Pack's attempt to replace the OTF board. In June 2020, OTF had asked law firm McGuireWoods , which had been advising it pro bono, for help in its conflict with the USAGM and Pack. McGuireWoods said it could not help in
2700-446: The opportunity to fill enough vacancies to constitute a voting majority on each independent agency commission within the first two years of the first term as president. In some famous instances, presidents have found the independent agencies more loyal and in lockstep with the president's wishes and policy objectives than some dissenters among the executive agency political appointments . Although Congress can pass statutes limiting
2760-405: The organization's perceived ineffectiveness, stating in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine: "The BBG is the most worthless organization in the federal government. It's full of people who know nothing about media or foreign policy." Senator Jim DeMint also attempted to use the nominations to force a hearing on the BBG after frustrations with a perceived lack of congressional oversight over
2820-522: The organization. Coburn had written an open letter to then–Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in August 2010 citing "longstanding concerns regarding transparency and effectiveness of our taxpayer funded international broadcasting agencies under the purview of the Broadcasting Board of Governors." Though a report on BBG was eventually given to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations , Coburn
2880-526: The position in December 2022. The board advises the CEO of the agency, as appropriate. It is composed of seven members, six appointed by the president of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate , and the U.S. Secretary of State . Of the six appointed members, one each should be appointed from among four lists of at least three individuals submitted by the chairs and ranking members of
2940-440: The president cannot simply fill vacancies with members of his own political party. The president can normally designate which commissioner will serve as the chairperson. Congress can designate certain agencies explicitly as "independent" in the governing statute, but the functional differences have more legal significance. In reality, the high turnover rate among these commissioners or board members means that most presidents have
3000-479: The same category? No, we wouldn't. However, there are concerns...that Russia's own independent media space is shrinking and the Kremlin continues to apply pressure on the few remaining outlets." On January 19, 2021, the nonprofit Government Accountability Project , representing fired USAGM employees and whistleblowers, sent a letter to the congressional foreign affairs committees, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel , and
3060-400: The same political party, in an effort to limit partisanship. The president designated one member (other than the Secretary of State) to serve as Chairman. The Board served as a "firewall" against political interference in the journalistic product. Upon the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 on December 23, 2016 the agency was placed under the direction of
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#17328593515333120-502: Was "heavily influenced by the Internet activism that helped organize the green revolution in Iran in 2009 and other revolutions in the Arab world in 2010 and 2011 ". In September 2014, the OTF worked with Google and Dropbox to create an organization called Simply Secure to help improve the usability of privacy tools. In March 2017, the OTF's future was reported as under question due to
3180-483: Was allocated in 2011 from Congress to the Broadcasting Board of Governors , which then provided $ 7 million to Radio Free Asia . The Open Technology Fund operated for seven years as a program of Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded, nonprofit international corporation that provides news, information and commentary in East Asia. Since 2019, the OTF has had its own Board of Directors and receives its funding directly from
3240-653: Was considered a part of the U.S. Information Agency . The first voting members of the BBG, confirmed on August 11, 1995, were David W. Burke, Ted Kaufman , Tom C. Korologos , Bette Bao Lord , Alberto J. Mora , Cheryl Halpern , Marc Nathanson , and Carl Spielvogel . On October 1, 1999, the BBG was established as an independent agency by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998. The Agency has five broadcasting entities that were established from 1942 - 2004. The Voice of America (VOA) has been in operation since World War II . William Harlan Hale ,
3300-489: Was formed in 1994 with the passing of the International Broadcasting Act . The act established a bipartisan board that consisted of nine voting members, eight of whom were to be appointed by the president for a three–year term. The ninth was the secretary of state , also a political appointee, who would serve as an ex officio board member for the duration of their term as secretary. At this point, BBG
3360-573: Was founded in 1996. In 2002, BBG launched Radio Sawa , a 24/7 Arabic language radio network that broadcasts news and a mix of Western and Arabic music in the Middle East. In 2004, Alhurra TV was created as a televised sister network to Radio Sawa and began broadcasting throughout the Middle East. Since its founding, it has established programs such as Al Youm ( Today in English), a daily three-hour news program broadcast from five countries on three different continents; and Musawat ( Equality in English),
3420-434: Was initiated to help constituents better understand what USAGM does. The Open Technology Fund (OTF), launched in 2019, works to advance internet freedom, so USAGM journalists and audiences can have uncensored internet access. Over 2 billion people worldwide use OTF daily. State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki clarified Lack's statement in her January 23 press briefing, saying "would the U.S. Government put those three in
3480-489: Was related to OTF's reluctance to extend grants to Falun Gong -related enterprises working on technology directed against China's Great Firewall ; the New York Times noted Falun Gong and its Epoch Times media group often supported the Trump administration. On August 18, USAGM announced it was setting up its own Office of Internet Freedom with less strict grant requirements and began soliciting OTF's grantees to apply to
3540-513: Was the reason Shell was denied entry to Russia. In 2018, The New York Times reported that the Agency had targeted Americans with Facebook ads for one of its outlets, which would violate the Smith–Mundt Act , a law "to protect Americans from domestic propaganda". In 2023, after Twitter decided to label the Voice of America's account as government-funded media, a VOA spokesperson told NPR that
3600-405: Was ultimately unsuccessful in trying to block the appointments to the board. In July 2016, the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Jeff Shell , was denied entry into Russia. Matt Novak, writing for the tech website Gizmodo , referred to the BBG as the "propaganda arm" of the U.S. government and speculated that its alleged role in spreading propaganda on behalf of the U.S. government
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