Senator Marshall Leads Effort Ensuring Biden-Harris Agency Stops Censorship Online

Washington, D.C. - Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. led a letter to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) expressing concerns over the agency's monitoring of online political speech leading up to the 2024 election cycle. In the letter, Senator Marshall and his colleagues warn that the agency's actions risk First Amendment violations by censoring speech on popular social media and search engine platforms. The senators pointed to a similar effort by CISA during the 2020 election cycle that led to widespread censorship of American citizens.

"The First Amendment prohibits the government from 'abridging freedom of speech' and the Supreme Court has recognized that for 'core political speech' 'the importance of First Amendment protections is at its zenith.' In today's world, 'core political speech' is often found on social media platforms. Instead of respecting these long-standing norms, CISA has in the past worked with partners to violate them, thus undermining trust in the agency for many Americans," the senators wrote. "To quote the Supreme Court, 'if there is a fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.' This is why we are writing to discourage CISA from prescribing what is favored and disfavored speech going forward. Millions of Americans expect nothing less from their government," the senators continued.

Senator Marshall and his colleagues urged CISA to prioritize its core mission of protecting America's critical cybersecurity infrastructure. The senators closed their letter by demanding CISA confirm it will not censor Americans' online speech or collaborate with groups aiming to control online information or opinions.

Senator Marshall led this letter alongside Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO). You may clickHERE or scroll below to read Senator Marshall's letter to CISA.