Statement: Ted Cruz is really better than Democrats on the First Amendment?
The following statement can be attributed to Lia Holland (they/she), Campaigns and Communications Director at digital rights organization Fight for the Future:
As the Trump administration attempts to silence left-coded organizations, Democrats like Amy Klobuchar (D-MI) are lining up to restrict speech and remove the Section 230 protections that everyone relies on to exercise their rights to speak and organize. At Tuesday’s POLITICO AI & Tech Summit, Senator Klobuchar said “I’m not for censorship, but I do think that more has to be done online.” Then, Senator Klobuchar advocated for the repeal of Section 230, a law that both left and right-aligned organizations agree is vital for protecting our First Amendment rights online. In one breath, Senator Kolubuchar is saying she’s against censorship—but with the next, she’s calling for exactly that.
In this particular moment, it’s irresponsible for Democrats like Senator Klobuchar to side with Trump’s efforts to crack down on speech. Vice President JD Vance and the White House promised to use the full weight of the government to “go after the NGO network that foments, facilitates and engages in violence”, naming institutions like the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundation as targets. There is no evidence that these major grantmaking entities in any way encourage political violence.
At the same time, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) promised he’d force “tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.” This is the online future that Senator Klobuchar is saying she wants when she advocates to end Section 230: one where anyone who doesn’t respect right-wing mouthpieces online gets silenced forever.
Thankfully, some Republicans have kept to their stated principles of protecting free speech. At the same summit where Klobuchar immediately contradicted her own stance against censorship, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that “The First Amendment absolutely protects speech. It absolutely protects hate speech. It protects vile speech. It protects horrible speech. What does that mean? It means you cannot be prosecuted for speech, even if it is evil and bigoted and wrong.”
Whether their position stems from ignorance, malice, or greed for cheap political points, Democrats who are trying to throw away the First Amendment should be ashamed. Especially when multiple major figures on the right are willing to stand up for the free speech of leftists they vehemently disagree with. Will Democrats truly allow Senator Cruz and Tucker Carlson to be the only thing protecting the left’s right to freedom of speech and to online organizing tools?
There is no “but” after stating you are against censorship. Senator Klobuchar needs to get this through her head: either she’s standing up for the right of her own voters to speak, or she’s supporting Trump’s goal to narrow the first amendment so that it only protects the speech he agrees with.