For our first annual Free Speech Awards, the Media Research Center (MRC) is honoring 35 champions of the First Amendment, including five members of the U.S. Senate (announced Monday), and 10 members of the U.S. House of Representatives (announced posted Tuesday), 10 additional public officials today and 10 outstanding advocates of free speech in non-governmental organizations on Thursday.
Today, we are honoring 10 public officials who have fought to protect free speech in America through their positions in state and non-legislative federal governments.
The MRC’s inaugural 2024 Free Speech Awards recipients include Ken Paxton, Ashley Moody, Andrew Bailey, Brendan Carr, Bryan Hughes, Ron Desantis, Greg Abbott, Paul Kanitra, Dave Yost and Jeff Landry.
In announcing the Free Speech Award winners, MRC Founder and President Brent Bozzell said, “The 2024 MRC Free Speech Awards are not just for Washington insiders. The 2024 Top 10 Political Leaders were instrumental in protecting freedoms nationwide. Some of the best defenders of the First Amendment are on the state level or agencies.”
Bozell continued: “This past year, we saw Governors Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, and Jeff Landry fight Big Tech censorship. Attorneys General Ken Paxton, Ashley Moody, Andrew Bailey, and Dave Yost took the fight to Big Tech, bringing lawsuits and challenging them. For his part, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has done yeoman’s work in defending free speech, as have state legislators Bryan Hughes of Texas and Paul Kanitra of New Jersey.”
Three of the 10 public officials receiving awards have faced online censorship as documented by MRC Free Speech America’s exclusive CensorTrack database.
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Governor Greg Abbott
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has led the Lone Star State since 2014. During his tenure, he has worked bipartisanly, developed Texas’s infrastructure, and created a successful economy. Earlier this year, TIME magazine recognized Abbot as one of the most influential people in the world.
Abbott has led the fight for free speech in Texas to declare Big Tech platforms common carriers and to prevent their relentless discrimination against conservative viewpoints. Notably, in August 2021, he signed House Bill 20 into law, which prevented Big Tech platforms from banning users based on their political views.
"We will always defend the freedom of speech in Texas, which is why I am proud to sign House Bill 20 into law to protect First Amendment rights in the Lone Star State," Abbott said in a statement announcing the law's enactment.
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Attorney General Andrew Bailey
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has worked tirelessly to protect constitutional rights, enforce laws as written and train a new generation of attorneys to carry on his work.
Bailey has defended the First Amendment against the Biden-Harris censorship regime, consistently holding Big Tech accountable for infringing upon constitutionally-protected free speech rights.
Bailey inherited and carried through the Murthy v. Missouri lawsuit, brought by his predecessor against the Biden administration in the Summer of 2022. The suit was an effort to hold the federal government accountable for pressuring social media companies to censor unfavorable stories and political speech.
“We must build a wall of separation between tech and state to preserve our First Amendment right to free, fair, and open debate,” Bailey said in a statement related to the lawsuit. “Missouri will continue to lead the way in the fight to defend our most fundamental freedoms.”
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr
Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr was nominated by former President Donald Trump in 2017 and re-nominated by President Joe Biden in 2023. Carr has leveraged his extensive experience in communications and tech since he began working for the FCC as a staffer in 2012.
Carr has been a consistent champion of free speech rights. He fought against what many have described as the weaponization of the federal government against tech mogul Elon Musk. Carr called out the FCC’s expedited and potentially unlawful handover of radio stations to leftist billionaire George Soros.
“Pressuring social media companies into censoring the constitutionally protected speech of everyday Americans is not how you protect democracy,” Carr said in response to Democratic calls for censorship on social media platforms.
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Governor Ron Desantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his country and American freedom through his service in the U.S. Navy for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. DeSantis also worked as a federal prosecutor and represented Florida’s Sixth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected governor in 2018.
As governor, DeSantis has led the fight in the Sunshine State to prevent Big Tech platforms from censoring media outlets and political figures based on their political viewpoints. He signed SB 7072 into law, which limits Big Tech’s ability to censor users based on viewpoint discrimination, as a publisher might.
DeSantis released a statement about the pro-free speech bill after he signed it in 2021, affirming: “Many in our state have experienced censorship and other tyrannical behavior firsthand in Cuba and Venezuela. If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable.”
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes
Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes (R) is a lifelong Texan, a first-generation college graduate and a lawyer who has been an advocate for traditional values. He has advocated for school choice policies, made efforts to protect women’s sports, and has received several awards for his service to his constituents, including the Visionary Leader Award and the Horizon Award.
Hughes has also been a leader in the effort to protect constitutionally-protected speech by deeming Big Tech platforms to be common carriers. He also proposed HB 7, which directly limited the ability of social media companies to block users from posting based on their political viewpoints.
The Texas senator spoke to the importance of the law when it faced a legal challenge earlier this year, saying, “Social media companies can control the outcome of an election by the messages they allow to get through and other messages that they push forward.”
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra
New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra is a former councilman and mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey—and currently represents the Garden State’s 10th district. He previously worked as an aide to U.S. Representative Mike Ferguson. Kanitra has received many accolades including the Distinguished Citizen Award in 2021.
In the New Jersey Assembly, Kanitra has been a leading legislator in the fight against Big Tech censorship and has built strong coalitions to protect free speech rights. He sponsored legislation during his tenure like Assembly Action A4738, which prevents social media sites from removing users' accounts through suspension, deletion or other means.
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Governor Jeff Landry
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry began his career as a police officer, working his way to become sheriff deputy, a U.S. congressman and later the Pelican State’s attorney general. He was subsequently elected governor in 2023.
During his stint as attorney general, Landry along with then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, launched the Murthy v. Missouri lawsuit to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for colluding and coercing Big Tech platforms to censor free speech.
The suit implicated defendants President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. The Plaintiffs additionally brought the suit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security. Through this lawsuit and the evidence uncovered in legal discovery, it became very clear just how aggressively the Biden-Harris administration has championed censorship.
In a written testimony for the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in the House of Representatives, Landry shared what his litigation uncovered: “Publicly, these federal actors have justified their deeds in the name of protecting the public against ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation,’ when in fact it is done to suppress disfavored views.”
As governor, he has also spearheaded a crusade to uphold free speech rights on the Louisiana State University campus. Landry signed an Executive Order, JML 24-154, which aimed to protect all viewpoints and encouraged vigorous debate in classrooms.
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Attorney General Ashley Moody
Before being elected attorney general, Ashley Moody was a successful lawyer and judge. She worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office where she pursued the prosecution of illegal drugs, firearms and fraud. Moody became the youngest judge in Florida when she was elected to the thirteenth circuit court in 2006 and was elected attorney general in 2018.
As attorney general, Moody has consistently led the fight against Big Tech’s unlawful censorship of constitutionally-protected speech, bringing multiple lawsuits to hold Big Tech accountable for its actions. For example, Moody defended Florida Gov. DeSantis’s free speech bill against a legal challenge brought by far-left tech trade association NetChoice.
She also joined 18 other state attorneys general in their denouncement of the Biden administration's attack on free speech.
“President Biden is attempting to confuse and distort legitimate criticism and the perspective of American citizens,” Moody stated in a press release. “This authoritarian maneuver could be straight out of the novel 1984 and should frighten Americans of all political persuasions."
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Attorney General Ken Paxton
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has served as the Lone Star State’s top law enforcement official since 2014 during which time he has upheld his constituents’s constitutional rights, combated human trafficking throughout the state and led the most successful child support division in the nation.
Paxton has also consistently led the fight against Big Tech’s unlawful censorship of constitutionally-protected speech, bringing multiple lawsuits to hold Big Tech accountable for their actions.
In defense of the Texas free speech law signed by Texas Gov. Abbott, Paxton spoke out against Big Tech companies for wantonly censoring viewpoints that counter the left’s narrative.
“These massive corporate entities cannot continue to go unchecked as they silence the voices of millions of Americans,” Paxton said in 2022. “HB 20 was designed to protect every Texan wanting to fully express his or her First Amendment rights, and the court made the right decision in upholding the law.”
He further defended this law holding Big Tech accountable in court when he was sued by far-left tech trade association NetChoice in Paxton v. NetChoice.
♦ 2024 MRC Free Speech Award Winner: Attorney General Dave Yost
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost began his public service career as a Delaware County, Ohio auditor, eventually pursuing the attorney general's office, which he won in 2019. He rose to national prominence because of his emphasis on the rule of law, stating that “the same rules for everybody” was a guiding principle.
Yost has also led the fight against Google, the most prominent source of censorship in America, by bringing litigation to declare it a common carrier in Ohio. This would make the tech giant subject to government regulation which is the first step to blocking Google censorship in the future. The case, Ohio v. Google, is ongoing and is anticipated to go to trial next year.
Yost also wrote an amicus brief to the Supreme Court advocating for free speech when it was deciding Murthy v. Missouri. “The federal government doesn’t get to play referee on the field of public discourse,” Yost said. “If you let them decide what speech is OK, one day yours might not be.”
MRC Free Speech America Assistant Editor Luis Cornelio and Staff Writer Tom Olohan contributed to this report.
