America First Legal (AFL) is taking a stand against what it deems as unlawful censorship by filing public records requests with various Arizona government agencies. The requests were made with the Center for Internet Security, as well as Coconino County, Maricopa County, Pima County, and the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. These requests seek information regarding social media communications and takedown requests.
In recent elections, both federal and state government entities, including those in Arizona, have taken it upon themselves to combat what they label as "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation." Government officials, such as those from the Secretary of State's Office and Arizona county election officials, had the ability to report perceived misinformation to the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing & Analysis Center (EI-ISAC). This organization, coordinated by the Center for Internet Security (CIS), then transmitted these censorship requests to social media platforms.
Furthermore, Arizona state and local government officials have directly reported misinformation to social media platforms, urging them to censor certain speakers and content. This type of censorship raises concerns about the potential impact on election outcomes.
CIS, although organized as a non-profit entity, is subject to Arizona's public records laws due to court rulings that state when a public body outsources its responsibilities to a private entity, documents related to government activities become public records. Therefore, CIS's censorship actions on behalf of Arizona government entities fall under Arizona's public record law.
James Rogers, America First Legal Counsel, states, "These activities are brazenly unlawful and unconstitutional." AFL has previously filed a federal class-action lawsuit against individuals and entities involved in the "Election Integrity Partnership" and the "Virality Project." This lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jill Hines, co-Director of Health Freedom Louisiana, and Jim Hoft, founder of the news website The Gateway Pundit.
The revelation of this government censorship regime was made possible through AFL's dedicated efforts in obtaining information through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and a lawsuit that compelled the Biden Administration to reveal secret communications between administration officials and social media companies regarding the censorship of free speech.
Censoring lawful free speech goes against the principles outlined in the Constitution and is contrary to American ideals. America First Legal remains committed to investigating any attempts to undermine the First Amendment and silence the American people.