In Senate testimony, RCFP attorney highlights government threats to free speech

An attorney from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press highlighted several government threats to free speech, including the recent White House ban on The Associated Press, while testifying on Tuesday before a U.S. Senate subcommittee about “The Censorship-Industrial Complex.”

The hearing, held by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, was prompted in part by concerns over allegations that the Biden administration coerced social media platforms to take down posts as part of government efforts to help platforms moderate misinformation related to COVID-19, election fraud, and other issues. 

In testimony before the subcommittee, Reporters Committee Vice President of Policy Gabe Rottman addressed the complications involved when interpreting interactions between the government and private speakers — including the news media — and clarified when they cross a constitutional line. 

“Ultimately what matters is which party — the government or the private speaker — makes the decision” to withhold information from the public, Rottman testified. “If the former, the government violates the First Amendment by using its power to inject itself into public debate. If the latter, that interaction can be a valuable addition to public debate.”

But Rottman also encouraged members of the subcommittee to broaden the scope of their discussion to include other government actions at the state and federal level that pose a similar threat of viewpoint discrimination. Those include the Federal Communications Commission’s interference with news organizations’ editorial independence, the misuse of consumer protection laws against perceived “bias,” and the White House’s decision to ban the AP from accessing certain events over its refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

“One First Amendment first principle is that the government must not be able to use its vast power to pick favorites or punish perceived enemies in public debate,” Rottman said in written testimony. “Official discrimination based on disfavored viewpoints is particularly dangerous because, if permitted, public officials can put their thumbs on the scale — in their own favor.”