National Defense Authorization Act Turns Into Battleground for Censorship

After Republicans in the House passed a version of the bill that would hinder censorship, possibly making it harder for the federal government to control online speech, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has turned into a battleground for censorship. According to reports, Democrats in the Senate may try to add provisions that would make it easier for the government to control online speech.

In order to stop the military from funding initiatives to censor American citizens, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) successfully altered the NDAA, according to a recent Breitbart News investigation.

The McCormick amendment protects entities like NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which, by advising advertisers, assist in the financial blacklisting of conservative content. The amendment also prohibits the military and any ad agency using such organizations’ services from working together.

The NDAA was recently approved by the House, which included Rep. McCormick’s amendment. But while Republicans seek to reduce the U.S. government’s ability to censor Americans, it seems Democrats in the Senate are still intent on increasing it.

According to reports, Sen. Mark Warner (R-VA) is proposing to amend the NDAA to include the RESTRICT Act, which was killed after receiving widespread bipartisan criticism for the overbearing censorship powers it gave the government.

The RESTRICT Act, which was promoted to Republican voters and lawmakers as a “TikTok ban” intended to rein in Chinese influencers, would have allowed for harsh penalties against Americans.

When Democrats unsuccessfully tried to incorporate the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), a bailout package for large media businesses that would have allowed for deeper coordination between the media and tech industries, in last year’s NDAA debate, they exposed other Democratic priorities.