Bipartisan bill targets government censorship threats
Source: Roll Call
Posted June 11, 2026 at 11:50am
A Biden-era push to remove certain social media posts about COVID-19 and the 2020 election and more recent pressure by the Trump administration against TV broadcasters have brought together a bipartisan Senate duo to try and prevent indirect government censorship.
Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. unveiled legislation Thursday that would prohibit government agencies from “jawboning” Americans through social media platforms, artificial intelligence systems or broadcasters.
The bill is not the first to attempt to take on jawboning. Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., have both tried before. This effort is new in its bipartisanship. It takes a more comprehensive approach to the issue than Schmitt’s bill.
Cruz and Wyden’s as-yet unnumbered bill would set up monetary, but not punitive, damages for individuals or platforms, require the government to defend employees in potential cases and establish a portal for the government to report its communications about platforms’ content decisions.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2026/06/11/bipartisan-bill-targets-government-censorship-threats/
Link to bill SUMMARY (PDF) - https://www.commerce.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/JAWBONE-One-Pager-FINAL.pdf
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