Senator Schmitt Introduces Transparency in Bureaucratic Communications Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Eric Schmitt introduced the Transparency in Bureaucratic Communications Act, instructing Inspectors General to report agencies’ censorship efforts to Congress:

“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. That is why I am proud to introduce the Transparency in Bureaucratic Communications Act, which mandates that Inspectors General provide Congress a detailed description of the contents and particular circumstances of any communication, or attempted communication, with any company receiving Section 230 protections. We will find the bureaucratic rot and we will rip it out,” said Senator Eric Schmitt. 

BACKGROUND:

• Senator Schmitt filed Missouri v. Biden in 2022 when he was serving as Missouri’s Attorney General, alleging a “vast censorship enterprise” between the federal government and social media companies to censor speech online.
• Thanks to discovery in Murthy and the release of the Twitter files, these agencies’ censorship and collusion with social media companies were exposed. The public uproar, and resulting litigation, forced an agency to change its behavior, even while no longer enjoined. 
• The Transparency in Bureaucratic Communications Act would task Inspectors General (IGs) with the added step of investigating and reporting on potential collusion between social media companies. The legislation also requires a comprehensive reporting of all communications on content moderation, user content, and communications related to these companies’ algorithms. 
• IGs possess several authorities to carry out their respective missions, such as the ability to independently hire staff, access relevant agency records and information, and report findings and recommendations directly to Congress. A total of 74 statutory IGs currently operate across the federal government.
• IGs are directed to report to Congress on a whole host (over 20) of areas: broad topics such as “problems, abuses, and deficiencies” or agencies to narrow topics such as “detailed descriptions of whistleblower retaliation,” “any attempt to interfere with the independence of the office,” and “peer review studies conducted by the IG.”

Read the bill text attached.