Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” The Executive Order aims to inhibit the government’s ability to censor–or pressure private companies to censor–constitutionally protected speech and insert itself into public debate as the arbiter of facts.
The National Coalition Against Censorship has long argued that the government should never use its power to pressure companies to censor voices that the government cannot censor itself. Last year, when we filed our amicus brief in the case Murthy v. Missouri with the Supreme Court, we argued that the Biden administration had overstepped its bounds in pressuring social media companies to remove speech it deemed misinformation. That brief was filed in service of the nonpartisan principle that our constitution rightly forbids the government from using its resources to silence unpopular viewpoints. At the very heart of our Democracy is the idea that we have a right to hear and engage with dissent over government policy.
We welcome new restrictions on the government’s complicity in censorship. However, the Executive Order is vague, and its true value will be in its application over the coming days, months, and years. The strength of our free expression right is defined by its consistency: free speech must be indivisible, and the government must avoid picking winners and losers in political debates regardless of politics or party, and regardless of popularity and power. We hope that this Executive Order signals a true commitment to keeping all voices free from government censors.