State Department 'Censorship' Office to Be Shuttered

A State Department agency conservatives say blacklisted Americans and news outlets is set to be shut down after funding for the agency was cut from the bipartisan federal spending bill, reports Cyber Scoop.

"The Global Engagement Center will terminate by operation of law [by the end of the day] on December 23, 2024," a State Department spokesperson told CyberScoop in an email. "The Department of State has consulted with Congress regarding next steps."

The GEC, a small but controversial federal office focused on disinformation campaigns abroad, came under scrutiny by Republican lawmakers for funding a "censorship scheme."

It had approximately 120 staff members and an annual budget of $61 million.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., last week called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to cut off funding for the GEC, which he said, "mutated into a massive censorship machine designed to suppress narratives that question establishment thinking."

The State Department originally said it intended to shut down the agency, but the CR bill lawmakers fought over last week still had funding for the GEC.

The new version of the short-term spending bill agreed to by lawmakers scrapped that.

Mark Montgomery, former executive director of the Cyberspace Solarium and a supporter of extending the center's authority, called the move "extremely frustrating."

"On a bipartisan basis, both political parties know that Russia, China and, to a lesser degree, Iran and other non-state actors, conduct information operations against us spreading lies, and the GEC was a good tool for ensuring that the truth, as we see it, came out."

• Spending Bill Would Have Been Lifeline for Censorship
• Schmitt Presses Schumer to Cut 'Censorship' Agency Funding