For 25 years, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has fought for your First Amendment right to free speech. Today, our Free Expression team is working hard to protect that right from attacks, including from the Trump Administration.
On May 28, 2020, President Trump signed the "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship," retaliating against a social media platform after it fact-checked his spurious tweets about mail-in voting. With its clear intent to deter social media services from fighting misinformation, voter suppression, and the stoking of violence on their platforms, the Executive Order violates the First Amendment and directly harms the health of our democracy.
The last few weeks and months have proven just how essential public discourse is to our democracy, and just how harmful mis- and disinformation can be. Misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly, impeding legitimate efforts to respond to the crisis and promote public safety. Misleading attacks on vote-by-mail are undermining public trust in the November election, sowing confusion and making election officials' already demanding jobs even harder. Protesters across the country, and the world, are facing pervasive surveillance and the disproportionate use of force, stifling their voices and demands for change.
Against all of this, CDT is holding government officials accountable for their actions and demanding that they live up to the high standards their position requires. We are working with companies to push for greater transparency and increased equity in content moderation policies. We are ensuring that our democractic institutions have a fighting chance against mis- and disinformation, especially during this election year.
With your support, we are putting democracy and individual rights at the center of the digital revolution. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Givens,
President & CEO
Center for Democracy & Technology
