“CISA has transformed into a domestic intelligence and speech-police agency, far exceeding its statutory authority.”
It turns out that the government has been "facilitating censorship." A new report from the Committee on the Judiciary's Weaponization on Government Committee digging into the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) posits that by acting through third parties, the agency, considered "an upstart agency" with the Department of Homeland Security, has engaged in the censorship of free speech and surveillance of Americans.
"CISA has transformed into a domestic intelligence and speech-police agency, far exceeding its statutory authority," the committee asserts. It also says the group engaged in "coordination with Big Tech to censor Americans."
CISA, the report states, has "metastasized into the nerve center of the federal government’s domestic surveillance and censorship operations on social media." CISA reported numerous social media posts, alleging misinformation and disinformation.
In the mouth of the right bureaucrat, those clever catch-words can stifle, suppress, and censor free speech, facts and truth.
The report details that the agency, which has a fiscal year 2024 budget of $27 million, "is 'working with federal partners to mature a whole-of-government approach' to curbing alleged misinformation and disinformation."
"CISA considered the creation of an anti-misinformation 'rapid response team' capable of physically deploying across the United States."
"CISA moved its censorship operation to a CISA-funded non-profit after CISA and the Biden Administration were sued in federal court, implicitly admitting that its censorship activities are unconstitutional."
"CISA wanted to use the same CISA-funded non-profit as its mouthpiece to 'avoid the appearance of government propaganda.'"
"Members of CISA’s advisory committee agonized that it was 'only a matter of time before someone realizes we exist and starts asking about our work.'"
In light of these allegations, the committee has issued a subpoena to CISA, with which CISA has not complied.
Among those who CISA brought together as part of their "Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Misinformation & Disinformation" working group was former head of Twitter Trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde, who implemented some of the most aggressive anti-free speech policies on Twitter.
Others included Dr. Kate Starbird, who served as chair and Suzanne Spaulding, among others. These "consultants rejected constitutional 'limitations' on the surveillance and censorship of domestic speech."
"During its existence," the committee reports, "the MDM Subcommittee issued two sets of formal recommendations: one set in June 2022,48 and another in September 2022.49 The Subcommittee’s June 2022 recommendations included, among other things, recommendations that 'CISA should approach the [misinformation and disinformation] problem with the entire information ecosystem in view. This includes social media platforms of all sizes, mainstream media, cable news, hyper partisan media, talk radio, and other online resources.'"
The committee attests that, based on previously undisclosed documents, "CISA expanded its mission to surveil Americans’ speech on social media, colluded with Big Tech and government-funded third parties to censor by proxy, and tried to hide its plainly unconstitutional activities from the public." They engaged in surveillance, the report states, along with censorship and cover-ups.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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