Foreign Threats to Free Speech and Domestic Policy Responses

Featuring

[Moderator] Spence Purnell, Resident Senior Fellow, Technology and Innovation, R Street Institute 

U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, Ohio’s 6th Congressional District

Preston Byrne, Tech and Free Speech Lawyer; Original Author, GRANITE Act

Colin Crossman, Deputy Secretary of State, State of Wyoming 

Overview

Social media’s borderless nature has drawn foreign governments’ attention to speech that Americans post online. Through measures like the European Union’s Digital Services Act and the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act, foreign regulators have grown increasingly willing to claim legal authority over American speech and to penalize the U.S. platforms that host it. 

This enforcement abroad has the potential to narrow Americans’ range of expression at home. Join R Street for a conversation on how policymakers can preserve the First Amendment in an era of global regulation. Our panelists will discuss the scope of that threat and the domestic responses now under consideration, including state-level efforts and federal legislation to shield Americans from foreign censorship judgments.