On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at restoring freedom of speech and ending censorship, drawing criticism from many who point to his history of threatening and suing journalists, critics, and political opponents.
Trump and his Republican supporters have accused the administration of former President Joe Biden of promoting the suppression of free speech on online platforms, particularly targeting misinformation about vaccines and elections. However, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June found that the Biden administration’s engagement with social media companies did not violate First Amendment rights.
Trump himself faced social media restrictions following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack by his supporters after his loss to Biden in the 2020 election. Over the years, Trump has also taken legal action against critics, such as his unsuccessful 2022 lawsuit against Hillary Clinton over comments about his campaign’s ties to Russia, which a judge dismissed as an abuse of the legal system. Trump has also sued multiple media outlets, calling journalists the “enemy of the people,” though several cases have been dismissed or settled, while others remain in progress.
David Kaye, a University of California, Irvine professor and former UN Special Rapporteur on free speech, criticized Trump’s executive order as a “deeply cynical” public relations move. Kaye argued that the government is already prohibited from interfering with citizens’ First Amendment rights, meaning the order doesn’t change existing law. He also pointed out the contradiction in Trump’s approach, saying, “You cannot on the one hand say, ‘The media is the enemy of the people,’ and at the same time claim the U.S. policy secures the right to constitutionally protected speech.”
