The New York Young Republican Club and other member organizations of the Free Speech Alliance coalition have issued a strong warning to the leaders of the five largest telecommunications companies in the U.S.: You must not censor Americans in advance of the 2024 presidential election.
In a letter delivered to the CEOs of Comcast, T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, and Charger, the pro-free speech groups cautioned the telecommunications companies not to cave into leftist pressure for election-interfering censorship.
“Our system of government and the ability for citizens to participate in it requires the unfettered, free flow of ideas,” wrote members of the Free Speech Alliance, a coalition of leading pro-free speech companies in the U.S. “Any action you take to limit that speech in advance of the November election is an attack on the very essence of freedom.”
The letter, signed by 29 organizations, urges telecom giants to pledge to five pro-free speech promises:
- “Never limit calling, texting, or other access to wireless communications to political campaigns, political action committees, or political fundraising services.
- “Never throttle or otherwise censor access to the websites of political campaigns, political action committees, or political fundraising platforms.
- “Never refuse contract renewal to a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) over the group’s political advocacy or the advocacy of its owners and employees.
- “Never throttle, block texted links, or otherwise censor access to news outlets, including individual pages of news outlets.
- “Never impose restrictions on calling, texting or internet access based on nebulous, amorphous and misused phrases like ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ ‘extremism’ or ‘hate speech.’”
You can read the full letter here.