At Hearing, Out-of-Touch Republicans Fixate on European Laws While Ignoring Government Censorship, Trump’s Free Speech Crackdowns in U.S.

Washington, D.C. (September 4, 2025)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led Judiciary Committee Democrats in setting the record straight on the unprecedented attack on the First Amendment in America that the Republican Majority refuses to confront: the one orchestrated by the Trump White House to silence the free press, crack down on speech Trump dislikes, punish critics, ban books, and intimidate law firms into submission. Instead, Committee Republicans convened a bizarre hearing focused on European online safety laws regulating Big Tech platforms abroad—laws that they have no jurisdiction over.

“We could have a meaningful hearing on this complicated subject, but this hearing is just a drive-by hit against a strong democratic ally to benefit a Donald Trump sycophant and wannabe,” said Ranking Member Raskin. “But it’s even worse than this. Not only are our Republican colleagues ignoring intensifying repression in the world’s dictatorships, but they are also trying to distract the world from the attack on freedom taking place right here in America every day.”

The hearing included testimony from David Kaye, Clinical Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law; Lorcán Price, Barrister, Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom International; and Morgan Reed, President, The App Association. It also included testimony from Trump sycophant Nigel Farage, a Member of the UK Parliament and leader of the UK’s far-right Reform Party, which has just four members out of 650 members in Parliament. Farage, a self-proclaimed fan of free speech, fled the hearing after just three hours—claiming that he had a sudden and mysterious scheduling conflict after fielding questions from Committee Democrats about blocking reporters from covering him, being pressed by Rep. Hank Johnsonabout his efforts to raise money in the U.S. from MAGA and Big Tech, and facing rebukes regarding his open admiration for dictators like Russia’s Vladimir Putin. When asked whether the Epstein files should be released—something he previously said he supported—Farage attempted to avoid answering the question, until Rep. Jared Moskowitz confronted him with his own statements and asked Farage, “Do you agree with yourself?”

Democrats made clear that the right-wing’s obsessive focus on our European allies’ domestic laws is a distraction from President Trump and the Republican party’s extraordinary assault on the First Amendment in America.

• Rep. Zoe Lofgren said: “I think it’s rather absurd for this Committee to spend our time criticizing laws we have no jurisdiction over while ignoring the countless ways the Trump Administration is tearing up the First Amendment. If this Committee is really serious about protecting free speech, we need to focus on the Trump Administration’s literal assault on the First Amendment that’s happening right here at home.”
   
• Rep. Lucy McBath asked, “Based on what you’ve seen since this January, if our colleagues in the majority continue to pretend that our First Amendment rights are not under attack here at home, what could this mean for our country within the next three years?” Professor David Kaye explained: “As we look at the current moment and the current situation for our media, for our universities, for people’s access to information generally, particularly access to health information, I think it pretends really, very problematic and dark days ahead. Will we be able to have access to information that makes us informed parents, or informed citizens able to make voting decisions? I think that’s the kind of future that we should expect if we don’t recognize this situation.”
   
• In response to a question from Rep. Jerry Nadler on how President Trump’s attacks on the press and his attempts to sue media outlets into silence affect freedom of expression and freedom of speech in this country, Professor Kaye explained: “I think it’s important to note that when we’re talking about attacks on the press, it’s not just about attacks on the journalists themselves or the media outlets themselves, it’s about every American’s right of access to information. It’s about the freedom of public debate that we get from a media that isn’t intimidated either by suit or by criticism from the Oval Office or whatever it might be. […] It’s really important to think about these kinds of attacks not only as those on journalists, but on the entire information ecosystem, and I think it’s also important for us to realize that we can’t pick and choose what censorship we like and don’t like.”
   
• Rep. Lucy McBath explained: “This administration has gone out of their way to retaliate against our students, news agencies, and others to express views that don’t align with their extreme agenda. By using lawsuits, eliminating funding, and even going so far as to send out a memo with a list of restricted words that can’t even be used. The actions of this administration have been ruled against in court time and time again by judges from both parties on a basis of abusing our constitutional rights.”
   
• Rep. Jasmine Crockett broke down Trump’s extreme assault on free speech: “Trump and Republicans defunded NPR because they argued it was biased. Trump has removed books discussing racial discrimination at U.S. Military Academies […] He’s tried to strip funding to schools across the country if they don't remove materials that include discussions of racial discrimination or that promote diversity. And in order for the merger between Paramount and SkyDance to happen, the FCC Chairman and Republican-appointed commissioners required SkyDance to establish a ‘bias monitor’ and in its FCC order noted reports ‘concerning negative media coverage of the Trump Administration.’ This is to say nothing of Trump pushing television networks to get rid of comedians and talk show hosts who criticized his Administration, say like Mr. Colbert. Let’s call this what it is: it's Trump weaponizing the idea of free speech to force people, institutions and companies to be his mouthpieces. This ain’t free speech, it's propaganda.”

Democrats explained how Republicans are attempting to export and impose extremist MAGA views on our closest democratic allies throughout Europe, including the UK via Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform UK party. Farage himself is a free speech hypocrite who only wants to protect speech he agrees with.

• Ranking Member Raskin explained: “Mr. Trump and Mr. Farage both claim they are protectors of free speech, but they only want to protect speech they agree with. In the UK, Mr. Farage is promoting the abolition of the Human Rights Act of 1998, to be replaced with a “British Bill of Rights” that limits the right of free speech to British citizens and legally sanctioned residents. He complains that racist threats against immigrants are not protected free speech, while he proposes to strip migrants, tourists and perhaps even visiting American Congresspeople of any free-speech rights at all.”
   
• After Mr. Farage abruptly fled the hearing, dodging further questioning from Committee Democrats regarding his free speech record and to get lunch with President Trump, Rep. Dan Goldman warned: “The degree to which this government is suppressing speech that simply opposes the president’s views should make Mr. Farage and every single one of my Republican colleagues speak out in favor of the First Amendment, and yet we have heard nothing.”
   
• Ranking Member Raskin pressed Mr. Farage on his abhorrent record on free speech: “Why do you ban journalists who oppose your views from coming to your events? Why did you tell the local government not to do interviews with your local newspaper?” Mr. Farage refused to answer.
   
• Mr. Farage, in his written testimony, called on the U.S. to consider using “diplomacy and trade fora” to take enforcement actions against the United Kingdom, raising questions of whether he was endorsing punitive measures like the ones imposed against Brazil.

Democrats highlighted how the Majority’s “investigation” into free speech abroad is a favor to President Trump’s Big Tech donors who want to avoid any responsibility for spreading and promoting dangerous and illegal content. 

• Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon explained: “We had a very robust investigation of Big Tech in prior congresses, which has kind of been shut down by a new alliance between Big Tech and the Republican Party. But it is about dealing with the real issues and the very real power that these Big Tech platforms have and trying to provide tools for ordinary citizens to fight back against disinformation or harmful content.”
   
• Rep. Chuy Garcia said: “Trump and his loyalists in Congress are also serving their corporate overlords by attacking the countries that actually try to rein in Big Tech. That’s not innovation, that’s corruption and oligarchy. The American people do not want corruption and oligarchy; they want leaders who have the backbone to stand up to Big Tech, to stop massive surveillance and protect data privacy and uphold freedom of speech.”
   
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal said: “You know, it wasn’t too long ago that Democrats and Republicans on this committee together agreed to undertake a 16-month investigation into the anti-competitive practices of Big Tech companies. […] It’s a big turnaround then that suddenly the Republican majority wants to do something as absurd as use trade negotiations to help bolster Big Tech in Europe when EU has undertaken the very smart solutions that fight back against Big Tech monopolies and protect consumers and small businesses. Maybe it’s linked to the fact that these Big Tech companies are now pouring money into Donald Trump’s campaign funds.”
   
• Rep. Becca Balint pointed out: “This hearing is not about making the internet a safer place for kids. It’s about harassing Europeans who are trying to do something—something, no, it’s imperfect, but they’re trying something—and we sit here twiddling our thumbs. There has never been a more important time than now to create some basic rules for Big Tech. Our kids are more important than these billionaires and their shareholders, period.”