Defense and national security

Executive Order 13721: Developing an Integrated Global Engagement Center To Support Government-wide Counterterrorism Communications Activities Directed Abroad and Revoking Executive Order 13584

President: Barack Obama

Replaced the counterterrorism communications center with a broader Global Engagement Center for coordinated messaging to foreign audiences.

Status: Completed/expired. Is Executive Order 13721 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13721 is completed or expired. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13721 do?

EO 13721 revoked EO 13584 and created the Global Engagement Center at the State Department to coordinate communications aimed at reducing the influence of terrorist organizations abroad. Congress expanded and codified its mission in 2016 to include foreign propaganda and disinformation. The GEC’s statutory authorization expired in December 2024 and the State Department closed the center on December 23, 2024, leaving the order without its operating institution.

Administration position: The center coordinated foreign-facing government work; it did not possess general power to censor domestic speech or regulate news organizations.
SignedMarch 14, 2016
DepartmentState
Statutory expansionFiscal 2017 NDAA
Center closedDecember 23, 2024

Before and after

Before the order

EO 13584 created the narrower Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications.

After the order

The GEC assumed and later expanded the mission until its 2024 closure.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Global Engagement CenterCoordinate analyze and support foreign-facing workEnded
State DepartmentHouse and supervise the centerClosed
Federal partnersAddress foreign influence under other authoritiesAgency-specific

What happened next

EO 13721 created the GEC.

Authorization expired and State closed the center.