Keywords
federal government, U.S. Code, propaganda, Cold War
Abstract
For more than fifty years, the U.S. Code has authorized the federal government to disseminate messages about America to international audiences. For at least thirty years, federal law has also prohibited those international propaganda messages from being disseminated within the United States. Given the realities of the acceleration and dispersion of information flow across international borders in the twenty-first century, a ban on dissemination of information that is tied to geographic boundaries raises both practical and policy issues. The domestic dissemination ban may have outlived its usefulness and relevance. Further, futile enforcement of the statute contradicts general U.S. policy promoting transparency and encouraging the free and open flow of information.
Original Publication Citation
Palmer, Allen W., Carter, Edward L. "The Smith-Mundt Act's Ban on Domestic Propaganda: An Analysis of the Cold War Statute Limiting Access to Public Diplomacy." Communication Law and Policy (26).
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Carter, Edward L. and Palmer, Allen W., "The Smith-Mundt Act's Ban on Domestic Propaganda: An Analysis of the Cold War Statute Limiting Access to Public Diplomacy" (2006). Faculty Publications. 963.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/963
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2006-12-01
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/548
Publisher
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Language
English
College
Fine Arts and Communications
Department
Communications
Copyright Status
© 2006 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Communication Law and Policy. Contact publisher for additional reprinting or re-use. http://www.routledge.com/
Copyright Use Information
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/