# The SCREEN Act: What It Actually Does

This bill is about preventing American film companies from censoring their movies to please the Chinese government. Specifically, it targets a practice where Hollywood studios submit their films to Chinese officials for approval before release, and then cut out scenes or change content based on Chinese government feedback. The bill says that if a U.S. film company wants to use State Department resources—like filming at diplomatic locations or getting technical support from the government—they have to be transparent about which of their past films they've submitted to Chinese officials for approval, and they have to promise not to alter future films based on Chinese government requests.

The practical impact is fairly narrow. This mainly affects major film studios and production companies that work with the State Department on projects. If a company wants to use State Department assets or support, they'll now have to disclose their history of submitting films to Chinese officials and sign an agreement committing not to censor their content for China. The bill also completely blocks federal support for any film that's co-produced with a Chinese company that has content restrictions imposed by the Chinese government, or for any company that the State Department determines has recently altered films in response to Chinese pressure.

The bill requires the State Department to report to Congress annually about which films were submitted to Chinese officials and which companies appear to have changed their content based on Chinese government feedback. This creates a public record of the practice, though the reports would go to Congress rather than being automatically public. For most Americans, this won't directly affect them—it's really about whether American filmmakers can access certain government resources, not about what movies they can watch.

SCREEN Act

Green, Mark E.

Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now Act or the SCREEN Act This bill restricts the federal government from providing certain types of support to U.S. companies that make films with alterations or content conditions imposed by the Chinese government or Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill prohibits the Department of State from providing technical support or access to State Department assets to a U.S. company producing or funding films unless the company meets certain conditions (including entering into a written agreement with the State Department not to alter the content of the film in response to, or in anticipation of, a request from Chinese or CCP officials). The bill also prohibits the President from authorizing technical support, access to federal assets, or film-related contracts for films by certain U.S. companies. This prohibition applies to U.S. companies that (1) submitted films to Chinese or CCP officials for evaluation after the date of enactment of this bill or within the past 3 years (whichever time period is shorter), and (2) altered the films in response to, or in anticipation of, a request by such officials. The prohibition also applies to companies that submitted films up to 10 years prior if the films were altered after the company had signed an agreement with the State Department not to alter content. Additionally, such support may not be provided for films co-produced by an entity located in China that is subject to content conditions imposed by the Chinese government or the CCP.