In a bid to curtail the growing impingement on American citizen’s First Amendment rights, House Republicans have introduced a bill granting Americans the right to sue federal employees who may have had a hand in abetting the suppression of free speech on social media platforms.
The proposed law, known as the Censorship Accountability Act, aims to tackle what its proponents describe as the “Censorship Industrial Complex.”
We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.
The bill is spearheaded by Rep. Dan Bishop, who expressed his disquiet about how federal employees are increasingly becoming enablers, even orchestrators, of sweeping censorship on social media. “The Censorship Industrial Complex should no longer be allowed to operate with impunity, and those who seek to destroy the freedom of speech should have to answer for it in a court of law,” Bishop tweeted.
The proposed act sets out to empower individuals to lodge legal suits against executive branch employees who manipulate social media companies into curbing or shadow-banning posts.
The initiative is being backed by several Congressman Bishop’s GOP colleagues, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, and Harriet Hageman, amongst others. The bill outlines in clear terms the rights and recourse available to any US citizen subjected to deprivation of their First Amendment rights. Any federal employee found doing so under the aegis of any official stature or protocol will be liable to legal action.
