Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Media Transparency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee holds Senate Bill 318 on foreign-media disclosure for further scope review
Summary
Sen. Baldwin presented Senate Bill 318 to require disclosure of foreign media ownership and funding; committee accepted an amendment dividing administrative responsibilities and agreed to hold the bill for a week to refine scope and definitions.
Senator Baldwin told the House Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 318 would require disclosure of foreign ownership and funding for media entities that serve Indiana and would give Hoosiers more information about foreign influence in outlets that reach them. "Senate Bill 3 18 just requires disclosure and access of foreign media," Baldwin said during an opening presentation to the committee.
The bill, as described by the author, would: define foreign and local media entities; require disclosure of foreign media ownership to the Secretary of State; allow a state agency to issue an accreditation or certification to entities that comply; and impose penalties for failure to comply. Baldwin told the committee the measure was modeled in part on federal rules that the Federal Communications Commission adopted in 2022 for broadcast television and radio and that the bill does not restrict content but focuses on transparency.
During the hearing Baldwin offered an amendment (amendment number 3) that, according to the author, separates administrative duties: the Secretary of State would publish a list of entities that complied with disclosure requirements and the Department of Administration would handle certification of the actual entity. Representative Bauer asked for clarification about the scope of entities covered and whether the bill would reach blogs and websites in addition to more traditional outlets. Baldwin answered that the language is intended to cast a wide net — "a newspaper circulated in Indiana, whether they have a domicile in Indiana or outside Indiana... a website provides news, commentary, discussion concerning political matters to Indiana residents, and any other source of news" — and confirmed the bill would not duplicate federal broadcast rules already covered by the FCC.
No members of the public signed up to testify for or against the bill during this hearing. The committee agreed with the bill author to hold the measure for one week so staff and members could review scope issues and consider changes before the committee takes it up again.
What happened next: the committee did not vote on the measure and scheduled the bill for reconsideration next week.
Why it matters: supporters described SB 318 as a transparency measure intended to inform the public about foreign influence; members raised scope and administrative questions the author asked staff to resolve before further action.
