Overview

• Mollie Hemingway testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, alleging that the U.S. government collaborates with NGOs and Big Tech to censor speech under the guise of combating disinformation.
• Hemingway cited examples of government-funded partnerships with institutions like Stanford University and NGOs such as the Aspen Institute to promote censorship tools and blacklist dissenting media.
• Democratic Senator Peter Welch questioned the framing of the 'censorship-industrial complex,' calling it abstract, while Hemingway argued the system disproportionately targets conservative outlets like The Federalist.
• Legal scholar Mary Anne Franks defended the government's right to promote certain viewpoints, stating the First Amendment does not constrain NGOs or government actions in encouraging specific narratives.
• The hearing highlighted growing partisan tensions over the balance between combating disinformation and protecting free speech, with accusations of political bias fueling the debate.