The end-of-year continuing resolution postpones the imminent shutdown of a State Department entity infamous for funding censorship efforts — for now.
The State Department notified Congress earlier this month that the Global Engagement Center was being shut down, and spending legislation did not provide an extension for GEC, according to Washington Examiner reporter Gabe Kaminsky. The current continuing resolution, which has drawn criticism from numerous congressmen and media figures, contains a provision on page 139 for a “Global Engagement Center Extension.”
Kaminsky posted on Dec. 17, “BREAKING: The short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown includes a one-year extension on the State Department's Global Engagement Center — the agency me and [Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi] reported has funded speech suppression efforts and is being sued by [T]he Federalist and Daily Wire.” MRC was able to confirm his report.
“I can hardly wait for Trump and Congress to douse the Global Engagement Center with weed killer and pull it out by the roots. Taxpayers should never be forced to pay for their own silencing,” MRC Free Speech America VP for Free Speech Dan Schneider stated. He continued, “I would have loved for Biden and Schumer to agree to end their censorship project, but they aren’t relenting, even with their last gasps. I look forward to the arrival of the cavalry to support Speaker Johnson’s efforts to kill censorship across our government.”
Section 301, the “Global Engagement Center Extension,” amends a section of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to change the date from “8 years after the date of the enactment of this Act” to “9 years,” giving GEC another year of existence.
Back in September, the House Small Business Committee released an interim report on government-Big Tech censorship coordination, slamming GEC for violating its mandate. GEC, according to the report, funded censorship entities such as the infamous Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which blacklisted right-leaning websites and helped deprive them of potential ad revenue. The Examiner originally exposed GEC’s funding to groups that aim to pressure and persuade groups into engaging in anti-free speech activities.
In February, President Joe Biden’s State Department defied the congressional committee investigating GEC, claiming that it would restrict the Small Business Committee’s viewership of key documents. The Daily Wire, The Federalist and the state of Texas have sued the State Department over GEC’s anti-free speech activities, as Kaminsky noted.
While the CR revivifies GEC, the new NDAA does defund anti-free speech entities, including biased internet ratings firm NewsGuard. The House speaker also rejected the Senate version of the Kids’ Online Safety Act, which raised First Amendment concerns.
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 “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.
