Reining in the censorship industrial complex in the age of AI

Americans emerged from the COVID years rightfully suspicious of a federal censorship regime determined to police American speech. As a member of the House task force assigned to investigate the weaponization of the federal government, I learned just how deep the dystopian censorship regime will go to manipulate the digital public square. The unprecedented size and scope of potential censorship in the AI era is why I introduced the Preventing AI Censorship Act to reinforce Americans' First Amendment freedoms under pressure.

In February 2024, our subcommittee released an interim report exposing how taxpayer dollars at the National Science Foundation (NSF) are funding the development of new AI tools to censor online speech "at scale." University and non-profit research teams received multi-million-dollar grants to design, "AI-powered censorship and propaganda tools that can be used by governments and Big Tech to shape public opinion by restricting certain viewpoints or promoting others."

Worse, records show federal bureaucrats funneling tax dollars to such projects "reveal a years-long, intentional effort by NSF to hide its role in funding these censorship and propaganda tools from media and political scrutiny."

Our subcommittee published a follow-up report in December 2024 warning about "Censorship's Next Frontier." While Americans are forced to fund the creation of a powerful AI censorship regime, the federal government seeks to control AI itself as a form of mass censorship. The previous administration "regulated new AI models directly and indirectly, pressuring private companies to 'advance equity,' stop 'algorithmic discrimination' and 'mitigate the production of harmful and biased outputs.'"

"AI companies," the report adds, "raced to comply with the government's directives, even allowing the government to inspect new AI models before they are released to the public."

In other words, the government exploited American tax dollars to design and deploy powerful new AI tools to censor speech on an unprecedented scale. The First Amendment, however, does not have an AI exemption. Congress must be proactive to ensure Americans' right to free speech remains protected in a digital era radically transformed by the advent of AI.

The Preventing AI Censorship Act, is a first step towards safeguarding one of America's first liberties guaranteed in our binding Constitution. This bill builds on the First Amendment Accountability Act, another piece of legislation I introduced which allows Americans to sue federal employees who infringe on free speech. The Preventing AI Censorship Act similarly empowers citizens to sue bureaucrats who violate speech rights but use AI to do so.

The adoption of AI in courtrooms also warrants heightened attention from Congress to safeguard Americans' civil liberties. As an attorney for over three decades, I know our justice system demands precision and security. Congress must protect the integrity of our courts with vigorous oversight that remains up to date with emerging technologies. I therefore introduced the Research and Oversight of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Courts Act of 2026 to assess civil liberty implications, privacy issues and concerns over the accuracy of AI technology in federal courts.

Artificial intelligence is on the cusp of transforming everything, but we cannot allow the AI revolution to transform the Constitution into a mere suggestion. I am, however, still optimistic about AI's potential for humanity despite these concerns about use in courts and censorship. The AI boom may prove as transformative as the first wave of the industrial revolution, accelerating miracle advancements in medicine, engineering and manufacturing. The rapid innovation in technology has ignited a similarly rapid increase in demand for affordable, reliable energy. Wyoming's abundant coal, oil, gas and uranium reserves hold the keys to unlocking the full potential of this digital future. I believe the wise embrace of AI will continue to steer America to rely on Wyoming energy and minerals to pioneer the 21st-century digital frontier as the nation's number one producer of coal and uranium.