Washington, D.C.— Today, Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09) led 10 of his colleagues in introducing the Free Speech Defense Act to eliminate government-by-proxy censorship.
In light of the latest developments with the Twitter Files, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s admission that warnings from the FBI led the company to suppress posts related to the Hunter Biden laptop story, and recent reporting indicating that the Biden Administration is utilizing the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to police Americans’ online speech, Rep. Clyde is championing legislation to prohibit the federal government from using Big Tech to circumvent Americans’ First Amendment rights.
“The very purpose of our First Amendment is to safeguard the People from the government prohibiting free speech — setting us apart from brutal regimes such as Russia and China,”said Clyde. “By using social media companies like Facebook and Twitter as private sector proxies to carry out its bidding, the federal government is brazenly infringing on Americans’ civil liberties and dangerously violating our Constitution. My legislation will bring an end to the government-by-proxy censorship that is tarnishing the bedrock of our nation and unjustly depriving Americans of their First Amendment freedoms.”
Read the Daily Caller’s exclusive on the Free Speech Defense Act HERE.
Full text of the Free Speech Defense Act can be found HERE.
Original cosponsors include Representatives Brian Babin (TX-36), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Madison Cawthorn (NC-11), James Comer (KY-01), Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Thomas Massie (KY-04), Mary Miller (IL-15), Barry Moore (AL-02), and Randy Weber (TX-14).
Background:
Rep. Clyde’s Free Speech Defense Act:
Prohibits the federal government from directing, encouraging, or coercing social media companies to deplatform users, label content as misleading, trusted, true, or untrue, or share users’ data without a warrant
Dismantles the Disinformation Governance Board and bans federal funding for any future iterations of such a panel
Strengthens the Antideficiency Act by prohibiting employees of the federal government from soliciting or accepting no-cost services, such as free advertising
Allows enforcement against the government in federal court if Americans can show that they were censored, deplatformed, or labeled, as these actions would violate the Free Speech Defense Act
Requires an annual report to Congress by the U.S. Attorney General, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, on the federal government’s compliance with the provisions within the legislation
