The Small Business Committee of the United States has launched an investigation into the Biden administration over its alleged violation of the First Amendment.
The committee is alleging that the Biden administration is involved in the funding of nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which they say infringes upon the First Amendment.
Breaking news from @gekaminsky:
— GOP (@GOP) June 7, 2023
"House Republicans are demanding a top Biden agency that funded a 'disinformation' tracker blacklisting conservatives provide 'unredacted' grant records"https://t.co/AV9nUYKt6z
“As made evident through investigative reporting such as the ‘Twitter Files’ and the Washington Examiner’s ‘Disinformation Inc.’ series, various agencies within the federal government, including the Global Engagement Center (GEC), have been collaborating with the private sector to have user-generated content removed from various internet platforms,” the lawmakers wrote to GEC special envoy and coordinator James Rubin.
“It has become clear that the federal government has undermined First Amendment principles by working to censor certain viewpoints by proxy,” the letter continued.
The letter went on to discuss NGOs such as the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which purport to have sought to ban conservative-leaning businesses from using advertising platforms. The lawmakers contend that this makes it harder for these companies to compete in the digital market, and they made it clear that the GDI had recently received at least one GEC grant.
“The federal government has no business circumventing the constitutional protections of private citizens,” said Republican Texas Chairman Roger Williams. “Recent reporting has shown taxpayer dollars have been used to stifle speech online. For many small businesses that rely on the internet to reach their customers, this alleged interference could have wide ranging implications within the digital economy.”
The committee expressed worry that such actions would violate the State Action doctrine, arguing that the government cannot get around constitutional safeguards by using private actors to carry out tasks that it itself is unable to do.
The lawmakers have also urged the GEC to safeguard the U.S. from threats posed by outside parties rather than facilitate the harm of small businesses in the country because of their speech or political beliefs.
“It is the GEC’s responsibility to protect the United States from threats from foreign bad actors, not to facilitate harm to U.S. small businesses through intermediaries because the Administration disagrees with the speech or politics of the business owner,” the letter continued.
