Restoring American Freedom Act

This bill aims to stop the State Department and anyone it funds from censoring the free speech of U.S. citizens. It tells the Department to watch for problems, make sure no employees or funded groups try to silence people’s speech, and fix past misconduct if it happened. It also blocks State Department money from going to groups that publish “advertising blacklists” or that create or share censorship tools without proper safeguards, as determined by the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy.

If the Secretary of State is told that Department staff or funded groups may be censoring a U.S. citizen, the Secretary must notify Congress and that citizen as soon as possible, and no later than 7 days after being notified.

• Who is affected:

  • State Department employees and anyone who gets State Department grants or contracts.
  • U.S. citizens whose speech is protected by the First Amendment (the bill defines “free speech” this way).

• What changes:

  • The Department must ensure no one it employs or funds censors or helps censor U.S. citizens, and it must correct past misconduct.
  • No State Department funds may go to groups that publish “advertising blacklists” (lists meant to scare off advertisers from supporting a person because of their speech) or that build or share censorship tools without safeguards.

• Key terms:

  • “Censor” includes pressuring social media to remove a citizen’s speech or contacting them, even through another group, to suppress it.
  • “Advertising blacklist” is a list used to discourage ad placement or financial support because of someone’s speech.

• When:

  • Notice to Congress and the citizen is required within 7 days after the Secretary is notified of potential censorship.