Trump Signs Executive Order to End Federal Censorship

President Donald Trump has signed the “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” executive order on January 20, 2025. This directive aims to curtail federal government involvement in content moderation and promote transparency regarding past censorship practices.

The order takes direct aim at the outgoing Biden administration, claiming that “Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve. “

Federal agencies are also prohibited from exerting pressure on social media platforms or other private entities to suppress lawful speech. It also mandates the Attorney General to investigate government actions over the past four years and submit a report to president Trump. “Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society,” the order asserts, labeling past efforts to moderate content as advancing "the Government’s preferred narrative."

The executive order's language seems to target government efforts to control narratives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and X’s Elon Musk have also publicly claimed that their respective companies engaged in forms of censorship under government pressure.

While free speech organizations and proponents generally welcome a smaller government role in censorship on public platforms, many also admit that the wording is too vague to make definite conclusions. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), for example, released a statement welcoming “new restrictions on the government’s complicity in censorship.” That being said, they went on to say: “however, the Executive Order is vague, and its true value will be in its application.”

The next executive order, and the final one of the day, was "Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government." It aims to investigate and prevent the misuse of federal agencies to target political opponents, something that has become a theme throughout the last few US elections. Trump also signed an order temporarily pausing the so-called TikTok ban.