Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY), along with co-lead Dan Bishop (NC-08), introduced the Standing to Challenge Government Censorship Act, a bill which provides a private right of action against federal employees and agencies which collude with social media to censor Constitutionally protected speech. Importantly, the bill is drafted to resolve the standing question in Murthy v Missouri which prevented the states and citizens from receiving relief in the case.
The bill has been introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) in the Senate.
“I have repeatedly said that the government cannot do by proxy what it is prohibited from doing directly.”, Representative Hageman stated in a media release. “This is exactly what happened with the Biden Administration pressuring social media companies to suppress the free speech of American citizens. The Standing to Challenge Government Censorship Act will not only ensure future litigants would have standing, but also would also apply to the plaintiffs in Murthy.
“Our forefathers ratified the First Amendment recognizing that government actors would always seek to control public discourse in order to protect their own power structure. No one has a monopoly on truth, and the Biden administration and federal agencies are not entitled to declare that American’s speech is ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ or ‘mal-information’ and silence the message, especially when you consider how much accurate and truthful information was squelched during Covid-19 and the 2020 election. We will continue to fight to protect our First Amendment rights.’
Representative Bishop said, “Americans have a God-given right to free expression, and the constant attacks on the First Amendment from government bureaucrats make safeguarding that right all the more important. Malicious actors within government should never be allowed to silence and censor Americans, and Americans targeted by the Censorship Industrial Complex deserve their day in court. This legislation will ensure just that by removing barriers for judicial review and cracking down on those who aim to trample on the First Amendment.”
“Americans are a free people, and we do not take infringements upon our liberties lightly. Our Founding Fathers enshrined the First Amendment to protect our God-given right to free expression, recognizing its fundamental importance to a free society,” said Dr. Paul. “With the Standing to Challenge Government Censorship Act, we will strip away the barriers preventing judicial review of coercive government tactics that silence dissenting voices and ensure that no government official or contractor can undermine the First Amendment rights of Americans. We must confront and dismantle this censorship apparatus to protect our fundamental right to free speech.”
