--- kind: "section" citation: "50 U.S.C. § 3059" title: "50" title_heading: "War and National Defense" number: "3059" heading: "Foreign Malign Influence Center" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/50/3059" units: - "Chapter 44 — National Security" - "Subchapter I — Coordination for National Security" --- # §3059. Foreign Malign Influence Center - (a) **Establishment—** There is within the Office of the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5) a Foreign Malign Influence Center (in this section referred to as the “Center”). - (b) **Functions and composition—** The Center shall— - (1) be comprised of analysts from all elements of the [intelligence community](/usc/50/3003.md?p=4), including elements with diplomatic and law enforcement [functions](/usc/50/3075.md?p=a); - (2) have access to all [intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=1) and other reporting possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to foreign malign influence; - (3) serve as the primary organization in the United States Government for analyzing and integrating all [intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=1) possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to foreign malign influence; and - (4) provide to employees and officers of the Federal Government in policy-making positions and Congress comprehensive assessments, and indications and warnings, of foreign malign influence. - (c) **Director—** - (1) **Appointment—** There is a Director of the Center, who shall be the head of the Center, and who shall be appointed by the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5). - (2) **Role—** The Director of the Center shall— - (A) report directly to the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5); - (B) carry out the [functions](/usc/50/3075.md?p=a) under [subsection (b)](#b); and - (C) at the request of the President or the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5), develop and provide recommendations for potential responses by the United States to foreign malign influence. - (d) **Annual reports—** - (1) **In general—** In addition to the matters submitted pursuant to [subsection (b)(4)](#b-4), at the direction of the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5), but not less than once each year, the Director of the Center shall submit to the [congressional intelligence committees](/usc/50/3003.md?p=7), the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on foreign malign influence. - (2) **Matters included—** Each report under [paragraph (1)](#d-1) shall include, with respect to the period covered by the report, a discussion of the following: - (A) The most significant activities of the Center. - (B) Any recommendations the Director determines necessary for legislative or other actions to improve the ability of the Center to carry out its [functions](/usc/50/3075.md?p=a), including recommendations regarding the protection of privacy and civil liberties. - (e) **Termination—** After December 31, 2028, the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5) may terminate the Center, but only if the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5) submits to the [congressional intelligence committees](/usc/50/3003.md?p=7), the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a determination that the termination of the Center is appropriate, which includes— - (1) a detailed description that other offices or entities within the [intelligence community](/usc/50/3003.md?p=4)— - (A) have the capabilities to perform the [functions](/usc/50/3075.md?p=a) of the Center; and - (B) will exercise the [functions](/usc/50/3075.md?p=a) of the Center upon the termination of the Center; and - (2) a detailed description of— - (A) the actions the Director of [National Intelligence](/usc/50/3003.md?p=5) will take to conduct an orderly wind-down of the activities of the Center; and - (B) the proposed timeline for such actions. - (f) **Definitions—** In this section: - (1) **Covered foreign country—** The term “covered foreign country” means the following: - (A) The Russian Federation. - (B) The Islamic Republic of Iran. - (C) The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. - (D) The People’s Republic of China. - (E) Any other foreign country that the Director of the Center determines appropriate for purposes of this section. - (2) **Foreign malign influence—** The term “foreign malign influence” means any hostile effort undertaken by, at the direction of, or on behalf of or with the substantial support of, the government of a covered foreign country with the objective of influencing, through overt or covert means— - (A) the political, military, economic, or other policies or activities of the United States Government or State or local governments, including any election within the United States; or - (B) the public opinion within the United States. ## Source credit (July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title I, § 119C, as added Pub. L. 116–92, div. E, title LIII, § 5322(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2129; amended Pub. L. 117–263, div. F, title LXIII, § 6307(a)(1), (b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3504, 3505.) ## Notes ### Editorial Notes ### Amendments 2022—Pub. L. 117–263, § 6307(a)(1)(A), struck out “Response” after “Influence” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–263, § 6307(a)(1)(B), struck out “Response” after “Influence”. Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 117–263, § 6307(b), added subsec. (e) and redesignated former subsec. (e) as (f). ### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries ### Reference to Foreign Malign Influence Response Center Pub. L. 117–263, div. F, title LXIII, § 6307(a)(4), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3505, provided that: “Any reference in law, regulation, map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the ‘Foreign Malign Influence Response Center’ shall be deemed to be a reference to the Foreign Malign Influence Center.”