1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Jamal Khashoggi Protection of Activists and Press Freedom Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) A free and independent press is necessary for citizens to make informed choices on issues of public concern, to have the information necessary to recognize truth from falsehood, and to hold the powerful and Government officials to account. (2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, a free press is essential to safeguard democracy. (3) The suppression of the press is historically associated with authoritarian rule. (4) As provided in article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people enjoy the right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the right to seek, receive, and impart information. (5) An informed public is fundamental to a free society. (6) In accordance with a long United States history of championing freedom of the press around the globe, the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 was enacted into law ( Public Law 111–166 ). (7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009, the global environment for a free and independent press has become more repressive. (8) According to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 363 journalists were imprisoned globally in relation to their work as of December 1, 2022, a new global high that overtakes the prior year’s record by 20 percent and marks another grim milestone in a deteriorating media landscapes. The Committee to Protect Journalists also reported there was complete impunity in nearly 80 percent of the 263 cases of journalists murdered globally between September 1, 2012, to August 31, 2022. (9) According to Freedom House’s publication Freedom in the World 2023 , global freedom has declined for 17 consecutive years, and over the past year, media freedom came under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories