When government officials attempt to force platforms into censorship, Americans need to know. To secure transparency, Congress must take action.
The SMART Act requires the federal government to tell the public whenever its employees are talking to social media companies about how they’re moderating our speech online. This sunlight would go a long way toward ending the censorship by coercion at issue in Murthy.
Greg’s take: The court punted on an extremely important case for all Americans' free speech rights. So in light of that, it's going to be one of my and one of FIRE's top priorities to get this legislation passed.
Should social media platforms come with a warning label? Should the government regulate minors’ access to porn? This week,
hosted a lively debate between Clare Morell — senior policy analyst at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of the forthcoming book, “The Tech Exit: A Manifesto for Freeing Our Kids” — and — free speech counsel at TechFreedom (and former FIRE staffer!) on these questions and more.
If you’re a regular reader, chances are you know about FIRE and all the critical work we’re doing to defend free speech rights and renew our society’s gut-level appreciation for these rights. In fact, all proceeds from this blog go directly to supporting FIRE’s work, so if you’re already a paid subscriber— thank you! If you’re not, I hope you’ll consider becoming one today. It’s harder than ever these days to find people who see the value in principled, non-partisan defense of free speech, and frankly, we need your help if we want freedom of speech to exist for our kids and grandkids.
If you’re in the position to give more, I’m humbly asking that you consider making a special contribution before our books close this month. Your contribution goes directly to supporting FIRE’s uniquely non-partisan work. You can dive deeper into our track record, but that work includes litigation against California Community Colleges’ DEI mandate, defending individuals like this journalist who was arrested for doing her job, as well as efforts like our annual College Free Speech Rankings, our summer intern program, and so much more.
We need allies and support more than ever, so please contribute if you can and nag your friends and family too as well! Thank you in advance!
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