On Monday, U.S. President, Donald Trump, signed an executive order aimed at, as he claims, restoring freedom of speech and ending censorship. Critics, however, have rebuked his actions due to his history of threatening and suing journalists, critics, and political opponents.
Trump and his Republican allies have accused the former Democratic administration of promoting censorship on online platforms.
While criticisms of the previous administration have focused on combating misinformation regarding vaccines and elections, the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling in June regarding the Biden administration's interactions with social media companies concerning free speech.
In response to the events of January 6, 2021, when Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol following his electoral defeat to Biden, Trump himself faced social media restrictions.
Over the years, Trump has a track record of threatening and suing his critics, including a failed 2022 lawsuit against Hillary Clinton for her remarks linking his campaign to Russia. Trump has also disparaged journalists and news outlets, some of which he has initiated legal actions against.
Legal expert David Kaye from the University of California, Irvine, criticized Trump's executive order as a "deeply cynical" move, highlighting that the federal government is already prohibited from infringing on citizens' First Amendment rights.
Following Trump's inauguration, the White House defended the order, accusing the previous administration of censoring American speech online through pressure on social media companies.
Kaye, a former UN Special Rapporteur on free speech, remarked, ""You cannot on the one hand say, 'The media is the enemy of the people,' and at the same time say, 'It's the policy of the United States to secure the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech.' Those two things don't fit together."