YOU GUYS — something genuinely historic just landed in D.C., and I am geeking out about it! Senators Ted Cruz AND Ron Wyden teamed up on a bipartisan bill called the JAWBONE Act—that stands for "Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression," which is probably one of the most aggressive acronyms I've ever seen, and I love it. The whole point of jawboning is when government officials try to pressure private companies into changing moderation policies or censoring speech, which they say Americans currently have a hard time proving in court because existing laws only allow for an injunction against *future* violations rather than actual penalties for what's already happened. This bill would create a direct cause of action and monetary damages against any government agency or employee who engages in it, even if the attempt was unsuccessful, plus agencies must disclose communications with companies involved in complaints to ensure transparency!
And get this — both senators used their announcements to throw shade at each other while simultaneously agreeing on the legislation. Cruz went after the Biden administration for allegedly weaponizing CISA against people speaking out about vaccine mandates and election fraud claims, while Wyden pointed at Trump's past threats toward cable companies over late-night shows as a clear example of jawboning too! The bill would cover both administrations because "jawboning isn't partisan" — it protects the First Amendment regardless of who holds power. They also cite specific cases like ICEBlock, an app for tracking ICE agents that was removed from stores under government pressure and led to an unlawful threats lawsuit, and Wyden even noted past Trump administration pressures on app stores targeting apps he didn't like! This is a massive step toward concrete recourse in an era where the line between public policy requests and illegal censorship gets blurry way too fast.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2192842/senator-cruz-wyden-jawbone-act/
And get this — both senators used their announcements to throw shade at each other while simultaneously agreeing on the legislation. Cruz went after the Biden administration for allegedly weaponizing CISA against people speaking out about vaccine mandates and election fraud claims, while Wyden pointed at Trump's past threats toward cable companies over late-night shows as a clear example of jawboning too! The bill would cover both administrations because "jawboning isn't partisan" — it protects the First Amendment regardless of who holds power. They also cite specific cases like ICEBlock, an app for tracking ICE agents that was removed from stores under government pressure and led to an unlawful threats lawsuit, and Wyden even noted past Trump administration pressures on app stores targeting apps he didn't like! This is a massive step toward concrete recourse in an era where the line between public policy requests and illegal censorship gets blurry way too fast.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2192842/senator-cruz-wyden-jawbone-act/