Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) applauded the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) after it announced it will no longer work with film studios that censor their movies on behalf of the Communist China Party (CCP).
The Pentagon’s new rule is a great step forward, but we need protections against CCP propaganda written in law. Read more on the Pentagon’s latest decision and my SCREEN Act here:https://t.co/rjzIx6OyIq
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) July 1, 2023
The DOD recently announced an update to its rules for working with movie studios to “prohibit any assistance to directors who plan to comply or will likely comply with censorship demands from the Chinese government in order to distribute their movie there,” according to a report by Politico.
A DOD document obtained by the outlet stated that the department will not “provide production assistance when there is demonstrable evidence that the production has complied or is likely to comply with a demand from the Government of the People’s Republic of China … to censor the content of the project in a material manner to advance the national interest of the People’s Republic of China.”
The DOD’s new rule mirrors that of what was proposed in Green’s Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now Act (SCREEN Act), which has yet to make it out of committee.
“I am glad to see the Pentagon stand up against the CCP’s attempt to censor and control American films. Studios that bow to an adversarial nation’s political agenda do not deserve support from our defense agencies,” Green said in a statement.
“American filmmaking should be about free expression and American values. It should not be used as a vehicle for CCP propaganda,” Green continued, before revealing that he submitted provisions of his SCREEN Act recently as an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
“The Pentagon’s new rule is a great step forward, but we need protections against CCP propaganda written in law,” Green added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Mark Green” by Rep. Mark Green.
