Writing for The Hill, Lynne Weil summarized a 2015 report from the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, who is responsible for oversight of U.S. public diplomacy programs. She concluded that efforts like American Spaces are hampered by security and funding challenges despite the fact that the content they provide overseas including uncensored access to the internet is "valuable, especially in countries that restrict access to information." As of 2016, the program claimed 700 spaces across 169 countries. The inaccessibility of these spaces due to security has decreased foot traffic to them, hampering their outreach effort. In January 2016, the United States took diplomatic action against what it described as "widespread harassment" of American personnel in Russia which had forced the closure of 28 American Spaces throughout Russia.
