from the oh-come-on dept
Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced this week that he’s barring visas for international nationals who “censor Individuals,” declaring that “free speech is among the many most cherished rights we take pleasure in as Individuals.”
That is yet one more instance of essentially the most censorial administration falsely wrapping itself within the cloak of “free speech warriors” to defend censorship. Rubio has spent his tenure as Secretary of State conducting essentially the most aggressive authoritarian censorship marketing campaign in current American historical past — actually having college students kidnapped off the street for his or her speech and moved across the nation to hide them from the courts. He’s declared foreign students “lunatics” for his or her opinions and yanked their visas with out warning or due course of.
So when Rubio positions himself as a free speech champion, it’s price inspecting what he’s really doing versus what he’s claiming to oppose.
The New Visa Coverage: Extraordinarily Selective “Anti-Censorship”
Wednesday’s announcement targets international officers who “censor” Individuals:
Free speech is among the many most cherished rights we take pleasure in as Individuals. This proper, legally enshrined in our structure, has set us aside as a beacon of freedom all over the world. At the same time as we take motion to reject censorship at dwelling, we see troubling situations of international governments and international officers choosing up the slack. In some situations, international officers have taken flagrant censorship actions in opposition to U.S. tech firms and U.S. residents and residents after they haven’t any authority to take action.
Right now, I’m saying a brand new visa restriction coverage that can apply to international nationals who’re liable for censorship of protected expression in the USA. It’s unacceptable for international officers to challenge or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. residents or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms whereas bodily current on U.S. soil. It’s equally unacceptable for international officers to demand that American tech platforms undertake international content material moderation insurance policies or have interaction in censorship exercise that reaches past their authority and into the USA. We won’t tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, particularly when such encroachments undermine the train of our elementary proper to free speech.
In isolation, defending Individuals’ speech rights could be price contemplating. However this isn’t taking place in isolation — it’s coming from essentially the most censorial administration in current reminiscence.
The true inform is what constitutes “censorship” in Rubio’s framework. The coverage particularly targets calls for that “American tech platforms undertake international content material moderation insurance policies.” Translation: that is about defending platforms like ExTwitter from having to observe guidelines in locations just like the EU or Brazil that Elon Musk doesn’t like. In the meantime, Rubio’s personal authorities is actually disappearing individuals for his or her speech.
The Selective Enforcement Recreation
Count on this coverage to be utilized with surgical precision in opposition to nations whose content material insurance policies displease the administration — doubtless focusing on EU officials, Brazilian judges, and Australian regulators who’ve pressured social media firms. And, sure, these all have carried out issues we take into account problematic, however banning them from the US fully appears ridiculous and an assault on international sovereignty. We might disagree with their insurance policies, however that is the US meddling in these insurance policies elsewhere.
In the meantime, will the visa ban apply to Recep Erdogan of Turkey? Narendra Modi of India? Vladimir Putin? All repeatedly have interaction in precise social media censorship, however by some means I doubt they’ll face visa restrictions.
The inform right here is that Rubio selected to announce this by means of an “unique” article from Michael Shellenberger, one of many main voices within the “censorship industrial advanced” mythology — who’s now employed as a “professor” at a “college” that espouses “educational freedom” however fires people who submit on social media in a means that challenges a funder’s ideology. Shellenberger has spent years misrepresenting fundamental content material moderation ideas whereas claiming non-public firms imposing their very own guidelines constitutes authorities censorship. Now, confronted with an administration actually kidnapping individuals for speech, he’s writing puff items celebrating their “anti-censorship” efforts.
To point out simply how upside-down this has turn into, on this article (which I’m not linking to, as a result of fuck that) celebrating Rubio’s announcement as pro-free speech, Shellenberger closed by additionally celebrating Trump’s resolution to revoke the security clearance of Chris Krebs. Based on Shellenberger’s fantasy, Krebs was fired for “demanding” social media firm’s censor content material — a factor that by no means occurred. Krebs was the CISA director who precisely identified that the 2020 election was safe — and was fired for that speech, and is now being additional retaliated in opposition to for that speech. Stripping safety clearance from somebody for contradicting your most well-liked narrative is textbook retaliation for speech, the precise form of authorities censorship Shellenberger supposedly opposes.
The Similar-Day Contradiction
As if to underscore the hypocrisy, on the exact same day Rubio introduced his anti-censorship visa coverage, he additionally introduced he’s revoking visas for Chinese students:
Beneath President Trump’s management, the U.S. State Division will work with the Division of Homeland Safety to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese language college students, together with these with connections to the Chinese language Communist Celebration or learning in essential fields. We can even revise visa standards to boost scrutiny of all future visa functions from the Folks’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.
Discover the language: “together with these with connections” means that’s only a subset of all Chinese language pupil visas being canceled. What constitutes “essential fields”? The administration gained’t say, as a result of the purpose is unfair energy to punish anybody they need.
So on the identical day Rubio claims to defend free speech, he’s revoking pupil visas based mostly on nationality and educational pursuits. That’s not defending speech — that’s focusing on it.
The capstone got here when Training Secretary Linda McMahon introduced that universities ought to solely obtain federal funds if their analysis is “in sync with the administration.”
That is the alternative of every part conservatives claimed to face for relating to educational freedom. It’s a direct assault on the First Modification’s safety of mental inquiry.
The Actual Sample
The sample right here isn’t about defending free speech — it’s about defending the speech the administration likes whereas silencing the speech it doesn’t. When international college students write op-eds essential of US coverage, they get kidnapped. When international officers stress US tech firms in ways in which displease Musk, they get visa bans. When universities pursue analysis the administration dislikes, they lose funding.
However when Rubio desires to place himself as a free speech champion, he can rely on helpful idiots within the “free speech” motion to cheer him on, whilst he’s conducting essentially the most systematic assault on speech rights in current American historical past.
If Rubio actually believed “free speech is among the many most cherished rights we take pleasure in as Individuals,” he’d cease being the most important menace to that proper within the US authorities.
Filed Beneath: academic freedom, censorship, content moderation, free speech, linda mcmahon, marco rubio, michael shellenberger, secretary of state, visas
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