Technology, Censorship & Free Speech: Defending the Digital Town Square

Governor’s Note: In the 21st century, your rights don’t stop at the town line—and they shouldn’t stop at the login screen either. We are witnessing an unprecedented merger of government and Big Tech to silence voices, manipulate narratives, and deplatform dissent. As Governor, I will fight to restore digital due process and give New Yorkers back their power to speak, share, and connect freely—without fear of censorship or reprisal.

What It Takes to Get It Done: Free speech in New York must be protected both online and offline. As Governor, I will:

• Introduce the New York Digital Civil Rights Act to prohibit political viewpoint discrimination on any platform doing business with or receiving subsidies from the state.
• Create a Free Speech Complaint Portal for residents to report censorship or shadowbanning by government-affiliated platforms or AI systems.
• Ban state agencies and contractors from colluding with private companies to suppress lawful content or user accounts.
• Establish legal grounds for users to sue platforms in NY state courts for financial damages resulting from politically motivated bans, throttling, or account interference.
• Launch the BETTR Initiative: a state-facilitated program to support the development of censorship-free platforms, tools, and services built by New Yorkers—for New Yorkers.
• Mandate algorithm transparency for any content-ranking system used by large social platforms operating in NY.

Why This Matters to You

• Millions of Americans—left, right, and independent—have had posts throttled, shadowbanned, or deleted without explanation or appeal.
• Emails from the FBI, DHS, and CDC reveal ongoing government pressure on tech companies to suppress dissenting speech, especially around elections and COVID policies.
• New York agencies have shared personal data with third-party tech partners, raising serious concerns about surveillance, consent, and misuse.
• Small creators, activists, and whistleblowers are deplatformed while multinational corporations get preferential treatment and protection.
• AI content moderation tools are disproportionately flagging political satire, religious content, and minority viewpoints, often without human review.
• Section 230 lawsuits have failed to hold tech giants accountable in federal court, but state-level actions can force them to respect state civil rights laws.
• New York taxpayers fund universities and labs that partner with censorship tools, yet have no voice in how these technologies affect public discourse.
• Transparency in algorithms and moderation can reduce misinformation while preserving free expression.
• Without reform, today’s censorship of speech becomes tomorrow’s censorship of thought, journalism, and innovation.
• This fight isn’t about tech—it’s about freedom.

This platform will make New York the first true Free Speech Sanctuary in the digital age. No more backroom bans. No more political blacklists. No more Big Brother in your browser.