House Republicans are looking to cut off the financial spigots for the government’s censorship efforts through provisions in two spending bills. 
The two spending bills in the House of Representatives provide restrictions on funding for the State Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prevent censorship collusion like what The Twitter Files revealed. The Global Engagement Center (GEC), which operates under State Department oversight and was caught funding pro-censorship organizations, is also specifically targeted. As a recent injunction against federal government censorship has been temporarily stayed, the Republican-led bills, proposed by the House Appropriations Committee, provide another avenue to protect free speech from the growing threat of Big Tech-government collusion.
The first bill, spearheaded by Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), prohibits the Department of State from “partner[ing] with or fund[ing] nonprofit or other organizations that pressure or recommend private companies to censor, filter, or otherwise suppress lawful and constitutionally protected speech of United States persons, including recommending the censoring or removal of content on social media platforms.”
Diaz-Balart touted the proposed bill in a press statement on June 23. “We scrubbed every program to ensure efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness,” the Florida lawmaker said. “Just as Americans in Biden’s economy are forced to streamline their budgets and cut back on inessentials, the Republican Majority is committed to ending the out-of-control spending that characterized the previous Democratic Majority.” The legislation also refuses funding for promotion of “sex change surgeries” for minors and explicilty mentions GEC, which was exposed funding organizations working to censor or blacklist conservative entities.
The second bill, introduced by Rep. David P. Joyce (R-OH), likewise forbids DHS from “censor[ing] lawful and constitutionally protected speech of United States persons” or recommending such censorship. DHS efforts to censor include the now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board,” which aimed to target alleged “mis-, dis- and mal-information.”
The bill bars DHS from supporting the “terminating,” “‘shadowbanning’” or “suspending” of accounts. It also prevents “deboosting” or otherwise “suppressing” and censoring content.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech and government agencies be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
