Last week,
Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Wyden
introduced the Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression, or
JAWBONE Act
. The bipartisan legislation creates a federal cause of action against government officials who coerce or attempt to coerce broadcasters, interactive computer services, or AI providers into taking actions against lawful, First-Amendment-protected speech, and establishes a transparency system for government communications with those intermediaries about user expression.
We thank the Senators for their leadership on this important issue.
Jawboning
occurs when the government pressures private companies to censor speech protected by the First Amendment, and it’s not always obvious to the public or to the victims what has actually happened.
Deleting posts or cancelling accounts because a government official or agency demanded it or even made threats in making those demands—just like
spying on people’s communications on behalf of the government
—raises serious free speech concerns.
Among other things, this bill would provide a new legal right to bring claims against the government in federal court, in addition to what the First Amendment provides.
At EFF, we’re continuing to fight back on behalf of those censored by government coercion. One recent example: we represent
the creator of ICEBlock
, an app that allows the public to report immigration enforcement activity in their communities. In June 2025, high-ranking federal officials began
threatening to investigate and prosecute the creator of ICEBlock
, Joshua Aaron. In October 2025, the U.S. Attorney General demanded Apple remove ICEBlock from the App Store, and the company complied. The government’s coercion violated Aaron’s First Amendment rights.
We’ve also filed a
Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
against the same government agencies that threatened Aaron and other services that provided forums to report ICE activity. The lawsuit seeks the disclosure of
