U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, plans to introduce legislation to enhance protections for customers against government censorship, as reported by The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. The announcement comes after Cruz criticized the White House’s attempt to have late-night host Jimmy Kimmel removed from the air.
Cruz told The Journal he will introduce a bill in the coming weeks that would include legal protections against government censorship and make it easier for people subjected to such restrictions to be able to sue for damages.
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Cruz intends to challenge Carr
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According to a Yahoo/YouGov poll, 54% of Americans disapproved of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from his show.
The Texas lawmaker also said he intends to bring up the issue in a series of upcoming hearings that are expected to include Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr. Carr pushed for Disney-owned ABC to take Kimmel off the air following his comments following conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Cruz criticized the move despite saying that he did not find Kimmel funny.
“Censorship is wrong, regardless of who’s doing it,” Cruz said.
Hope for bipartisan support
The senator told The Journal that he’s been working on the legislative effort for months, but the issue gained more steam following the temporary suspension of Kimmel. He said the move will also focus on the Biden administration’s alleged efforts at censorship and expressed optimism for bipartisan support.
“Perhaps that poses for us to work together in a bipartisan way,” Cruz told The Journal.
A potentially difficult road ahead
But getting the bill to pass could be another story. Similar legislation in 2023 that would have stopped federal officials from requesting Big Tech to censor free speech failed to gain enough support in the Senate. That came in part over concerns that the legislation may make it more difficult to combat harmful content and misinformation.
Cruz said his legislation would create a framework for customers to bring legal cases against the government and provide new definitions for courts and federal agencies to adhere to. The bill would reportedly include exceptions for non-protected speech, such as non-consensual adult imagery.
The Texas Republican even said he’d go so far as to appear on Kimmel’s show to gain support for the legislation, despite what he considers Kimmel’s hyperfocus on Trump.
ABC did not comment on the report.
