Congress shall make no law repecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

- First Amendment, US Constitution

A Principled Stand Against Censorship

As a political party, the Libertarian Party is the only anti-censorship organization that gives you a chance to vote for freedom of speech on Election Day -- by voting for Libertarian candidates for public office. Cast your vote to defend your freedom: Vote Libertarian!

I defend the rights of individuals to unrestricted freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the right of individuals to dissent from government itself. I oppose any abridgment of the freedom of speech through government censorship, regulation or control of communications media, including, but not limited to, laws concerning: 

• Electronic bulletin boards, communications networks, and other interactive electronic media as we hold them to be the functional equivalent of speaking halls and printing presses in the age of electronic communications, and as such deserving of full freedom;
• Electronic newspapers, electronic "Yellow Pages", and other new information media, as these deserve full freedom."
• Content that some may consider "Offensive", including pornography, as the Libertarian Party holds this to be an abridgment of liberty of expression. I encourage individual and social responsibility by artists, creative media, writers and all citizens.

As a point of clarification, this applies only to government censorship. Individuals should have the freedom to choose whether or not they wish to read, hear, or view what is being said. Further, no private organization should be compelled to redistribute content against its will; this includes Web sites, newspapers, radio station, television stations, and other media sources.

Other Organizations Opposing Internet Censorship

While I may not agree with the following organizations on all issues, we share an opposition to censorship. Visit their home pages for valuable information about threats to your freedom of speech and ways you can get involved in the fight to preserve your rights.

• American Civil Liberties Union
• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Foundation for Individual Rights in Education  

On the Issues:

• I support imposing appropriate market-based license fees on any for-profit communications company leasing the public airwaves. This fee should take into consideration the value they obtain from the use of public airwaves; however, this should be balanced with the benefit they provide to the public by providing a wide variety of opinions and information.
• I oppose allowing foreign-controlled corporations from holding licenses for the use of public airwaves.
• I support reserving a section of the electromagnetic spectrum for use by not-for-profit, local broadcasters.
• I support allowing the free-market, in the form of advertisers and listening audience, to drive what content is delivered by the media.
• I oppose using the force of government steal airtime from privately-owned radio and television networks to force them to broadcast positions with which they may not even agree with no compensation. Advocates refer to this as 'free and equal airtime for candidates" or the "fairness doctrine" when attempting to force talk shows to offer free time to competing viewpoints. This theft of services in order to broadcast government-mandated content is anything but fair.
• I oppose all free speech restrictions, particularly emphasizing political free speech. This includes opposition to the McCain-Feingold bill which, as supported by the Cato Institute and the Insitute for Justice, suppresses our freedom of speech in that it limits how and when we may support political candidates.
• I support the removal of unconstitutional regulations and practices throughout the communications industry in order to open the way to diversity and innovation.
• I strongly oppose the government's burgeoning practice of invading newsrooms, or the premises of other innocent third parties, in the name of law enforcement.
• I oppose court orders gagging news coverage of criminal proceedings -- the right to publish and broadcast must not be abridged merely for the convenience of the judicial system.
• I oppose any efforts to 'impose thought control' on the media, either by the use of anti-trust laws, or by any other government action in the name of stopping any perceived bias. At the same time, I recognize that freedom of communication does not extend to the use of other people's property to promote one's ideas without the voluntary consent of the owners.
• In the case of reporter-source confidentiatlity, a person should be entitled to know his or her accuser even in the 'court of public opinion.' If the accusations are true, the informant should enjoy the same protections as a whistle-blower. If not, they should be accountable for any harm their accusations may have caused. For this reason, I support a court's ability to require the identification of news sources.