DRAFT

The history of the Smith-Mundt Act’s “firewall”…

The original prohibition on the State Department from disseminating the material it produced for overseas audiences, including the Voice of America and other information material and details on educational, technical, and cultural exchanges, was to limit the influence of a State Department whose loyalty and competence was continually questioned by the Congress. Further, the Congress put in place other “safeguards” to protect the private media and guarantee multiple channels of information to guard against information domination and control by the state, or in this case, by State.

1972 -

1985 -

Defense Department -