First Amendment Friday Roundup

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter today urging the House of Representatives to vote against the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act) which threatens the freedom of speech online. The legislation, which is set for a House floor vote on Monday evening, would incentivize platforms to remove online content that the government may deem “inappropriate” for minors. The KIDS Act includes a version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which the ACLU has repeatedly opposed because it would undermine the First Amendment rights and privacy of all online users. It would incentivize platforms to verify the ages of their users, requiring the collection of significant amounts of personal information. Adults who are unable to verify their ages might not be able to access those platforms at all. “Censorship and invasive age verification measures will not keep children safe,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel with the ACLU. “The KIDS Act would threaten free speech for people of all ages and it would put our data at risk. Congress should vote no on this well-meaning but misguided bill.” The bill requires apps and websites to take unspecified action to prevent enumerated harms to kids, and in doing so, could lead to the removal of any information even tangentially related to those harms. This could include information that is actually helpful to minors, including information about addiction recovery, mental health resources, and gender affirming care. The proposed expansion of age verification tools would also increase the susceptibility of users’ personal information to data breaches. The letter can be viewed here.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Civil Liberties Union today endorsed a bipartisan bill that would protect freedom of speech online and on the airwaves. The JAWBONE Act, introduced by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), would prohibit the federal government from coercing broadcasters, AI companies, and online platforms into censoring their own speech or the speech of their users. It would also allow those entities to sue if their rights are violated. The bill was also endorsed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, Protect The 1st Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology, Institute for Free Speech, Public Knowledge, Americans for Tax Reform, Advancing American Freedom, Independent Women’s Voice, and Internet Accountability Project. The bill would create critical safeguards that would have prevented FCC Chairman Carr from threatening the broadcast licenses of television stations who continued to air Jimmy Kimmel’s show after he made remarks the White House did not like. Said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, “Time and time again, the government has abused its authority to coerce private actors into censoring themselves. That will end with the passage of the JAWBONE Act. This critical legislation would protect the First Amendment by stopping this kind of unconstitutional jawboning against broadcasters, platforms, and AI providers. We thank Senators Cruz and Wyden for working to protect freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the freedom to joke.” In 2025, the ACLU and partners mobilized over 500 actors, comedians, directors, musicians and writers and over 40,000 others to protect Jimmy Kimmel’s free speech rights in the face of retaliation for his jokes. In April 2026, his show once again came under fire from the federal government over his jokes, and the FCC announced they would require Disney-owned ABC stations to submit the paperwork to renew their broadcast licenses years early. This process would enable the FCC to revoke their licenses. A one-pager about the legislation can be viewed here.