Protect Right to Jawbone in America

Protect right to jawbone in America

ANOTHER VIEW

The JAWBONE Act: A Sensible Start for Addressing Coercive Government Censorship

Government efforts to censor and control speech conveyed by businesses such as social media platforms and over-the-air broadcasters, or generated and enabled by artificial intelligence systems, can occur formally or informally. Formal censorship, which flows from the negotiations and give-and-take of the legislative process, manifests itself as publicly visible, speech-restrictive or speech-compelling statutes that are subject to prompt judicial…

Editorial: Protecting the First Amendment

Editorial written by Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board The First Amendment needs all the help it can get these days. Many progressives want restrictions on “hate speech,” while Democrats weren’t shy about pushing private companies to censor “misinformation” during the pandemic. Meanwhile the FCC under a Republican president has threatened to use its licensing authority to punish broadcasters over perceived political slights. It is against…

Government by Raised Eyebrow: The JAWBONE Act and the Problem of Censorship by Proxy

The easiest way for the government to censor speech is not always to ban it. Sometimes, it is to find someone else with a hand on the switch.  That is the problem at the center of the current debate over free speech in the digital age. For years, the public argument focused on whether private technology companies were moderating too much content. A different concern has now moved to the forefront: “jawboning,” the practice of government official…