House GOP Takes Action To Allow Citizens To Sue The Feds For 'Censoring Views On Social Media'

The Censorship Accountability Act, a proposed bill to allow American citizens to sue federal officials for infringing their First Amendment rights, was introduced by Representatives Dan Bishop (R-NC) and Harriet Hageman (R-WY) on Wednesday.

According to a press release from the members of the GOP-led House of Representatives, the act will "bring accountability for the government’s Censorship Industrial Complex by expanding current law to allow Americans to bring lawsuits against federal executive branch employees for violating individuals’ First Amendment rights, including censoring views on social media."

"Freedom of speech is the bedrock principle of our nation. Unfortunately, many malicious actors, especially federal bureaucrats, are bent on undermining the First Amendment and censoring Americans at every turn. Current law allows government agents to censor and suppress free speech with little recourse for those being silenced. My bill will change that by finally allowing Americans to sue federal employees who violate their First Amendment rights. The Censorship Industrial Complex should no longer be allowed to operate with impunity, and those who seek to destroy the freedom of speech should have to answer for it in a court of law.”

Within the text of the bill co-sponsored by Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ), the scope of the applicable violations is made clear: "A Federal employee who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of the United States, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or any person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the First Amendment, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress."

According to Fox News, in March a similar though less effective bill passed on party lines designed to stop "federal employees from advocating for censorship of viewpoints in their official capacity," or encourage third parties to do so on their behalf. 

As DC Enquirer reported previously, the case of Missouri v. Biden spearheaded by the Attorneys General of Missouri and Louisiana, Andrew Bailey and Jeff Landry respectively, resulted in a historic ruling that Landry called "a big step forward in the continued fight to prohibit our government from unconstitutional censorship!"

The 155-page ruling from Judge Terry A. Doughty provides injunctive relief preventing the Biden administration from seeking further censorship from Social media companies. The judge wrote condemningly, "Although this case is still relatively young, and at this stage the Court is only examining it in terms of Plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits, the evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario."

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian 'Ministry of Truth.'"

The case is, however, still being litigated. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay to the order on July 14th allowing the Biden administration to resume coercing cooperation from social networks, according to The Washington Post.

The legislation from Bishop and Hagemann, though likely doomed in the Senate, seeks to attack the same problem legislatively that Baily and Landry are taking on judicially, a two-pronged effort to hobble Democrats' efforts to stifle free speech.

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