Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde reintroduced legislation Wednesday that would prohibit the federal government from using Big Tech to infringe upon Americans’ First Amendment rights.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the legislation, which Clyde originally introduced in December of 2022. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration Wednesday morning in a challenge to its alleged coordination with social media companies.
The bill is titled the Free Speech Defense Act and focuses on reporting indicating that the Biden Administration is using the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to pressure social media companies into policing Americans’ online speech.
The Intercept reported in 2022 that the DHS is “quietly broadening” its efforts to limit speech it considers a danger. (RELATED: Supreme Court Sides With Biden Admin In Landmark Censorship Case)
Here’s What The Legislation Would Do, According To Clyde’s Office:
- 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.
READ THE LEGISLATION HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“By using social media companies as private sector proxies to carry out its bidding, the federal government is circumventing the Constitution to silence the American people,” Clyde told the Caller before reintroducing the bill. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Trying To Stop Federal Government From Working With Big Tech On Censorship)
“Moreover, these nefarious censorship efforts have been weaponized to interfere in our elections. Given the dire electoral consequences of the Left’s suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story, Congress must act swiftly to rid our country of this unconstitutional muzzle before the 2024 election. It’s imperative that we advance my Free Speech Defense Act, which will finally eliminate government-by-proxy censorship — protecting both Americans’ free speech and America’s free elections,” he continued.
