The U.S. Congress appears to be finally waking up to the baffling assault on the First Amendment led by Big Tech and infamous federal agencies.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) penned an insightful op-ed for The Federalist, touting proposed legislation that seeks to permanently block the Biden regime from muzzling free speech that goes against government-approved talking points. The bill, Free Speech Protection Act, would place limits on the government’s ability to collude with Big Tech platforms to violate the First Amendment and terminate bewildering taxpayer-funded programs aimed at silencing Americans’ free speech. “Americans are a free people and we do not take infringements upon our liberties lightly,” Paul wrote. He also condemned the Biden White House’s “aggressive” targeting of conservatives.
Paul explained the nuts and bolts of the bill. “Those officials who censor Americans are on notice,” he asserted. [I]f you infringe upon First Amendment rights, under my bill, you will face severe penalties, such as potential debarment from employment by the United States, a civil penalty of no less than $10,000, and revocation of a security clearance.” The Kentucky senator further warned that any “administration employee who prizes his livelihood would not dare threaten free speech after my bill becomes law.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), a leading voice against Big Tech censorship, introduced a companion bill in support of Paul's pro-free speech effort. “Censorship is a major threat to freedom today,” Jordan said in a press release on July 20. “It is clear that Big Government must be more transparent, and that bureaucrats must be held accountable for censorship. The Free Speech Protection Act accomplishes that and gives individuals remedies for censorship to protect vital First Amendment freedoms.”
Paul echoed Jordan’s remarks in his op-ed. “My legislation will impose penalties for those that violate this rule, as well as empower private citizens to sue the government and executive branch officials for violating their First Amendment rights,” Paul wrote. Freedom of speech hits home for Paul, who has been subject to the onslaught of censorship himself. “When I posted a video on YouTube to educate the public on the potentially harmful consequences of relying on ineffective cloth masks to prevent transmission of Covid, YouTube took my video down and suspended me for a week.” Notably, the Kentucky senator’s voice has been censored no fewer than seven times according to the MRC Free Speech America’s exclusive CensorTrack.org.
Paul concluded the fiery op-ed by citing Thomas Jefferson, “[T]he ‘revolution of 1800 ... was a real revolution in the principles of our government as that of [17]76.’ Paul concluded, “Once again, the American people are called upon to defend the founding principles over which our forebears fought a revolution.”
Editor's Note: This blog has been updated to reflect that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) introduced a companion bill to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)'s Free Speech Act. An earlier version of this report mistakingly listed Jordan as a co-sponsored of the Senate bill.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
