Protect the First Amendment Act

The Protect the First Amendment Act would bar the federal government from using its funds to contract with or award grants to certain private entities and any nonprofits that engage in what it calls “covered behavior.” Specifically, it targets two named entities—NewsGuard (NewsGuard Technologies, Inc.) and Global Disinformation Index (comprising Disinformation Index, Inc.; Disinformation Index, Ltd.; and Global Disinformation Index gUG)—and any nonprofit organization described under the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)(3). The “covered behavior” defined by the bill is actions that demonetize or rate the credibility of a domestic entity’s lawful speech by attempting to decide whether that speech is misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation. In short, if an organization assesses or punishes lawful speech for being mis/disinformation, the bill would prevent the federal government from funding or contracting with it. The text provided covers only these definitions and funding prohibitions; it does not include enforcement details or penalties.