Union News

WASHINGTON – Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) introduced the Censorship Accountability Act, which will empower Americans to sue federal officials who violate their First Amendment rights.

Current law (Title 42, Sec. 1983) authorizes lawsuits, known as Bivens claims, against state employees for violating an individual’s constitutional violations. The Censorship Accountability Act will bring accountability for the government’s Censorship Industrial Complex by expanding current law to allow Americans to bring lawsuits against federal executive branch employees for violating individuals’ First Amendment rights, including censoring views on social media.

READ: Bill lets Americans sue 'malicious' federal workers who conspire to censor social media posts

“Freedom of speech is the bedrock principle of our nation. Unfortunately, many malicious actors, especially federal bureaucrats, are bent on undermining the First Amendment and censoring Americans at every turn. Current law allows government agents to censor and suppress free speech with little recourse for those being silenced. My bill will change that by finally allowing Americans to sue federal employees who violate their First Amendment rights. 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.” said Congressman Bishop.

“Our First Amendments rights are the foundation for all of our other individual rights as protected by the Constitution. We have the right to speak and to be heard; to engage with our fellow citizens on the important issues of the day. We have the right to freely practice the religion of our choice without government interference or oversight. Yet censorship, suppression and deplatforming of free speech has been at the core of Biden Administration policy, and our government’s response to Covid-19 exposed a clear hostility towards religious freedom. Under current law, the bureaucrats that have been empowered to silence us and restrict our rights are personally and entirely unaccountable. By providing for the right to file suit against federal employees who violate the First Amendment, this legislation will ensure that individuals within the executive branch are no longer able to censor with impunity.” said Congresswoman Hageman.

Reps. Andy Biggs, Jeff Van Drew, Matt Gaetz, Lance Gooden, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Troy Nehls, and Greg Steube are original co-sponsors of the legislation.

Read the full legislation HERE.

Background:

• Congressional investigations and the Missouri v. Biden suit are unearthing evidence that Executive Branch employees are censoring Americans’ speech in one of the largest censorship schemes in US history.
• Congressman Bishop is a leading voice against the government’s censorship efforts. He’s fought against all efforts to fund or promote the Censorship Industrial Complex. He is leading the charge in investigating the collusion between Big Tech and Big Government to censor Americans.
• This bill promotes accountability and will deter government misconduct. The bill is designed to deter censorship, but if government officials still violate the First Amendment, the bill empowers Americans people to sue them.  

Original source can be found here.