FIRE endorses Senate bill that would prevent government coercion of protected speech

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2026 — The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression supports a bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz and Ron Wyden that would prevent the federal government from strong-arming private parties into censoring protected expression. 

The “Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression Act,” or JAWBONE Act, would let Americans sue federal officials for violating the First Amendment when they coerce social media companies, AI platforms, or broadcasters to change or take down protected speech. 

In addition to providing legal recourse to victims of jawboning, the bill also would require the government to publicly report its communications with these companies, ensuring victims know when they’ve been targeted by government censors. 

“Jawboning isn’t a hypothetical, rare, or partisan problem,” said FIRE Legislative and Policy Director Carolyn Iodice. “It threatens the rights of anyone who uses social media or AI platforms. But there’s currently little to no recourse for victims to fight back against this pernicious kind of censorship. The JAWBONE Act fixes that.”

“Jawboning” occurs when government officials, who are prohibited by the First Amendment from outrightly censoring expression, instead coerce a private party into censorship, often under the threat of potential regulatory action if the “request” is denied. 

For example, in Murthy v. Missouri, troves of documents showed that the Biden administration pressured social media companies to delete, downgrade, or otherwise limit the reach of disfavored views on certain topics including elections and Covid-19. More recently, last fall’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC’s airwaves came after threats from the Trump administration to revoke the network’s broadcast licenses over a joke the comedian made.

“Government interference in online speech is not fiction,” said Chairman Cruz. “The Biden administration weaponized the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to pressure Big Tech into ‘canceling’ Americans who spoke out against vaccine mandates and election fraud. Holding the government accountable and giving Americans the tools to fight back is essential. The JAWBONE Act ensures the First Amendment is protected, not undermined.” 

As FIRE notes, without the protections of the JAWBONE Act, a private citizen who, for example, complains about the IRS or another government entity on Facebook could be punished and banned from the platform due to government coercion behind-the-scenes. 

“Nearly all of Americans’ speech – including TV news, online streams and social media - flows through private corporations that are highly susceptible to government pressure,” Sen. Wyden said. “Regular Americans can’t count on those companies to stand up to government jawboning, they need a way to level the playing field.” 

“The most blatant example is Trump threatening cable companies because he doesn’t like their late-night shows, but jawboning isn’t partisan, and it isn’t new,” Wyden continued. 

FIRE is joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, Advancing American Freedom, Americans for Tax Reform, Independent Women’s Voice, Institute for Free Speech, Internet Accountability Project, Knight Institute, Protect the First, and Public Knowledge in backing this legislation.

“Multiple administrations of both parties have engaged in jawboning, reflecting a broad and enduring problem,” said FIRE Legislative Counsel Greg Gonzalez. “We urge Congress to pass the JAWBONE Act and protect Americans from government overreach.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

CONTACT
Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@fire.org