With a hotly-contested presidential election just a year away and many Americans feeling the 2020 presidential election was unduly influenced by a decision between tech companies and the FBI to censor information critical of Democrat nominee Joe Biden, a group of U.S. senators has filed legislation to thwart any attempts by Biden to collude with tech companies to censor Americans.
U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and five Republican colleagues have introduced the “Disclose Government Censorship Act.”
If enacted, the bill would “end government-directed speech suppression and viewpoint censorship by requiring basic transparency regarding when Americans’ government is attempting to control what they can say or read,” Hagerty reports.
“It also places restrictions on the revolving door between government and Big Tech, which fuels much of the close coordination on censorship,” Hagerty adds.
“The collusion between the Biden Administration and Big Tech that has come to light over the last two years is not only disturbing but inconsistent with the government’s constitutional role in American life,” Hagerty said. “The purpose of the First Amendment is to prevent government from suppressing speech with which it disagrees. If the federal government is attempting to end-run the Constitution by secretly working with tech platforms to censor Americans’ speech, the American people deserve to know. Requiring transparency will ensure that the government cannot work secretly to censor Americans.”
“Time and time again, the Biden Administration and Big Tech have shown they cannot police themselves in protecting Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a co-sponsor. “This bill shines a light on the collusion between bureaucrats and Big Tech.”
“No government should pressure social media companies into censoring their users’ legal speech,” said co-sponsor Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. “That is particularly true for our own government. This legislation will require transparency from governments, including the Biden Administration, when they collude with Big Tech and silence Americans in the process.”
“Democrats have a rich history of censoring and silencing Republicans. This bill will protect our first amendment rights of free speech by ensuring that any government communication with tech platforms to restrict speech is made publicly available,” said co-sponsor Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. “The dangerous relationship between the Left and Big Tech must stop. I am pleased to join Sen. Hagerty in re-introducing this important legislation.”
“It is un-American for our government to pressure social media platforms to censor speech and viewpoints it does not find favorable,” said co-sponsor Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. “People in Wyoming expect the government to protect their First Amendment rights, not actively infringe on them. I appreciate Senator Hagerty’s efforts to expose this issue and fight back against government sponsored censorship.”
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., is also a co-sponsor.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Hope so
The problem with our representatives passing laws to control government over-reach and government shenanigans is that there never seems to be any punishments spelled out for breaking said laws.
So therefore, if the legislation passes, will the Democrats abide by it? Or is this just more ‘feel-good’ Republican legislation that in all actuality won’t do a damned bit of good in the long run?
Not holding my breath.
The democrats will never allow that bill to become law. They own the senate and the white house and will bury it.