Staff Reports
In recent times, the notion of free speech has come under serious scrutiny, and if we aren’t careful, it might just sneak its way out the back door. Congressman Jim Jordan, a staunch defender of constitutional rights, especially the First Amendment, is raising alarms about how the censorship practices we’re seeing abroad could easily take root here on American soil. He points to a chilling example of an Irish comedian arrested in the UK for a tweet he posted while in the United States. If that doesn’t make you want to clutch your Bill of Rights a little tighter, I don’t know what will.
Jim Jordan reminds us of what we’ve uncovered about the current administration’s cozy relationship with Big Tech. Just three days into office, the White House was already sending emails to Twitter to remove unwanted tweets. Now, if that doesn’t make you wonder if censorship is becoming the new norm, maybe it’s time to reassess. As this administration allegedly pressures tech companies to silence certain voices, we have to ask ourselves if our free speech is truly free or just rented until further notice.
The Biden administration has been accused of playing fast and loose with digital liberties, and Europe seems to be following suit by institutionalizing what’s aptly been dubbed the “Disinformation Governance Board.” Ever heard of bureaucrats? Now picture them in charge of telling you what you can tweet. It’s like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. This European “innovation” grants officials the power to deem what is true and what belongs in the digital trash bin, and it’s only a matter of time before these ideas hop across the pond.
Jordan highlights another rather glaring example of this encroachment on free speech—the saga of Hunter Biden’s laptop. The story was there, and agencies were aware of its existence as early as March 2020. Instead of transparency, however, there was an apparent dance of ‘debunking’ as social media giants were repeatedly swayed to downplay the situation. It’s a sobering lesson in how easily information can be suppressed and manipulated, especially when those in power have a vested interest in keeping certain narratives quiet.
The inquiries into social media’s role in this drama are not just footnotes in bureaucratic skirmishes; they’re critical battles for maintaining a free society. Jordan’s proactive stance in the House Judiciary Committee attempts to shine a light on these murky waters to ensure that censorship does not become America’s own homegrown export. The essence of the United States and Western culture is its embrace of free expression. Without it, our debates become dull, democracy falters, and Orwellian dystopia gets one step closer. It’s high time we pay attention to these warning signs before our tweets come with disclaimers and asterisks dictated by someone else’s agenda.
