Cruz and Wyden Introduce Bipartisan JAWBONE Act to Combat Government Censorship
Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the JAWBONE Act, a bipartisan bill that would create a legal cause of action against government agencies or employees who pressure social media platforms, AI systems, or broadcasters to censor speech, regardless of whether the pressure succeeds. The bill responds to concerns about 'jawboning' under both the Biden and Trump administrations, including pressure on tech companies over COVID-19 content and threats against TV broadcasters over late-night programming. It would allow plaintiffs to seek compensatory damages and attorney fees, require public disclosure of government communications with platforms, and fill gaps in existing law that have made such violations difficult to challenge in court.
Introduced Thursday, the JAWBONE Act — standing for Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression — would prohibit federal agencies and employees from coercing social media companies, AI providers, and broadcasters into making content decisions, and would allow affected individuals, platforms, and states to sue for monetary damages and attorney fees, though not punitive damages. Under current law, plaintiffs face significant obstacles: they must prove government pressure actually caused content changes, can only seek injunctions rather than damages, and often cannot even discover that covert government pressure occurred. The bill addresses these gaps by allowing suits over attempted jawboning, requiring agencies to submit records of their communications with platforms to a public portal administered by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and expressly extending liability to federal officials — who are not currently covered by 42 USC 1983. Exceptions are carved out for lawful investigations, warrant-authorized actions, and agencies' official use of platforms, with the burden on the government to prove an exception applies. The bill has drawn endorsements from ten civil liberties organizations spanning the political spectrum, including the ACLU, FIRE, the Knight First Amendment Institute, and Americans for Tax Reform, and builds on earlier, less comprehensive anti-jawboning bills introduced by Senators Eric Schmitt and Rand Paul. Cruz and Wyden each cited different administrations as the most egregious offenders — Cruz pointing to Biden-era CISA pressure on tech companies, Wyden highlighting Trump-era threats against broadcasters and app stores — underscoring the bill's framing as a remedy for a persistent, cross-partisan problem.
What's missing
The bill has not yet received a Senate number, and it is unclear whether it has any House companion legislation or a realistic path to a floor vote given the current legislative calendar.
How coverage differed
Reason framed the bill with notable emphasis on criticizing both the Biden administration's past conduct and Trump's ongoing jawboning, using it as an opportunity to highlight ideological inconsistency on the right. Engadget highlighted the partisan tension between the two senators' statements — each blaming the opposing party's administration — as a notable subplot, while Roll Call and Ars Technica focused more neutrally on the bill's legal mechanics and legislative history.
What different sources said
- Roll CallCenter
Bipartisan bill targets government censorship threats
- ReasonRight
Two Senators Offer a Bipartisan Solution to Censorship by Proxy
- Ars TechnicaCenter
Ted Cruz and Ron Wyden try to fight censorship with bipartisan JAWBONE Act
- EngadgetCenter
Senators introduce bipartisan bill to fight government censorship
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