Springfield Standard

Today, Senator Eric Schmitt introduced the Transparency in Bureaucratic Communications Act. This legislation requires Inspectors General to report any censorship efforts by agencies to Congress.

Senator Schmitt emphasized the need for transparency, stating, “Let me make it clear, the incoming Republican Congress cannot allow deep-state bureaucrats to continue censoring the free speech of our constituents any longer. We must continue to expose the full extent of the Biden Administration’s censorship schemes against the American people." He added that he is proud to introduce this act which mandates detailed reporting on communications with companies receiving Section 230 protections.

The background of this initiative traces back to 2022 when Senator Schmitt filed Missouri v. Biden as Missouri’s Attorney General. The case alleged a "vast censorship enterprise" between the federal government and social media companies aimed at censoring online speech. Discoveries in related cases and documents like the Twitter files have highlighted such issues, leading to public outcry and changes in agency behavior.

The proposed act tasks Inspectors General with investigating potential collusion between social media companies and federal agencies. It also requires comprehensive reporting on communications about content moderation, user content, and algorithms used by these companies.

Inspectors General have various authorities to fulfill their missions, including hiring staff independently, accessing agency records, and reporting findings directly to Congress. Currently, there are 74 statutory IGs operating across the federal government. They are directed to report on numerous areas ranging from broad topics like "problems, abuses, and deficiencies" to specific issues such as "detailed descriptions of whistleblower retaliation."