Wednesday, May 4, 2022

The Biden Administration Sees Free Speech As a Public Menace

 https://reason.com/2022/05/04/the-biden-administration-sees-free-speech-as-a-public-menace/

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is dismayed by the uproar over its new Disinformation Governance Board. DHS this week emphasized that the "internal working group," which has no "operational authority or capability," will focus on developing "best practices" to counter disinformation from foreign states and criminal organizations while protecting "free speech and other fundamental rights."

Although Republicans who likened the board to an Orwellian Ministry of Truth were indulging in partisan hyperbole, there are legitimate grounds for concern about the Biden administration's broader assault on speech it views as dangerous. Even if the DHS board's work does not amount to much, Americans are right to worry about the implications of that multifaceted campaign.