Last month, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Secretary of State Al Schmitt created the Election Threat Task Force.
The new task force received the attention of Congress this month. The Federalist reports that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has announced that a new Pennsylvania task force working with the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will protect free speech during the 2024 election. It first reported that it was seeking information on whether to suppress it.
In a March 20 letter, Jordan said his committee had subpoenaed CISA's parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for information.
“Reports of CISA's partnership with the Pennsylvania Election Threat Task Force demonstrate that CISA is once again partnering with third parties to censor and chill the speech of Americans,” Jordan said in the letter. “We are increasingly concerned that there may be some.” The task force will reportedly focus on “warfighting.”[ting]The government's definition of “misinformation” includes online speeches about Pennsylvania's controversial “no-excuse mail-in voting.”
“Government involvement in this type of speech is particularly troubling. As the Supreme Court has acknowledged, “the importance of First Amendment protections is paramount to core political speech.'' This is because it has reached.”
In announcing the new task force, Mr. Shapiro said, “Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy, and we will continue to protect the fundamental freedoms of Pennsylvanians and commit to free, fair, safe, secure and We are working hard to ensure that elections can be held.” As Attorney General, I have brought together law enforcement leaders at all levels to ensure that elections here in Pennsylvania are protected from fraud, interference, and intimidation, and as Governor, I am committed to continuing that work. . ”
Previously, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee said that government agencies had to take action against Twitter and Facebook for some online speech, specifically a New York Post article about Hunter Biden's laptop before the 2020 election. “misinformation” or “malicious information” regardless of the right to free speech. Politically, blocking the article from widespread circulation benefited then-candidate Joe Biden.
Jordan called the malicious information “Orwellian.”
According to published reports, CISA officials turned to Twitter (now known as X) and Facebook to remove or restrict certain posts.
Asked for comment, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Brian Cutler (R-Lancaster) referred DV Journal to his previous statement. “The greatest threat to Pennsylvanians' confidence in our elections is the state Supreme Court's deliberate refusal to abide by the plain text of Pennsylvania's election law, as enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania The state Department of State has a history of contradictory, confusing, and last-minute election guidance that intentionally sows confusion, confusion, and dissonance into the electoral process. It proudly refuses to adopt even the most universally supported election safeguards, which would increase confidence in the electoral process by requiring the provision of
“By turning our elections into military and law enforcement exercises, Governor Shapiro completely misses the point of election security and the administration’s role in conducting free and secure elections. Pennsylvania. “We don't need a show of arms for our state's citizens to have confidence in our election system. They need our laws to be enforced as designed, properly interpreted, and uniformly enforced,” Cutler said. he said.
The State Department issued the following statement to DV Journal in response to Jordan's letter: “As stated in the Shapiro Administration's news release last month, members of the Pennsylvania Election Threat Task Force are sharing information and helping coordinate plans to mitigate threats to the election process. We are also committed to combating misinformation and disinformation about the election process by providing voters with accurate and reliable election information.
“The Department of State is grateful to have the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as members of the task force, with whom we have had a long and productive relationship. CISA provides voluntary guidance and resources to help all levels of government protect cyber and physical infrastructure, and is a critical partner in keeping Pennsylvania's elections free, fair, secure, and secure. It has been proven that.”
The U.S. Supreme Court could make the final decision.
The issue of government interference with online free speech is also part of the Murthy v. Missouri case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, and some state lawyers have argued that CISA, the White House staff, the FBI, and the Surgeon General Stated. Forced changes to content posted on social media to exclude conservative views.
