President-Elect Donald Trump could save free speech in Australia after a 2022 warning resurfaced on social media, in which he vowed to dismantle and destroy the censorship cartel and establish a digital bill of rights.
Last week, Australia’s Federal Government presented a “misinformation and disinformation” bill in Parliament, described by the Institute of Public Affairs as “the single biggest attack on freedom of speech in Australia’s peacetime history.”
The legislation, which would allow the government to classify certain social media content as “misinformation,” has faced widespread criticism for potentially turning tech companies into an extension of government authority.
The bill would give the Australian government significant control over online speech, mandating that platforms remove dissenting opinions or content deemed false by government standards.
By contrast, under President-Elect Trump’s proposed Free Speech Policy Initiative, removing online content in the U.S. would require a court order.
The initiative would follow a five-step plan that includes:
- Executive Orders: Ban federal agencies from censoring lawful speech or labelling it as misinformation, and fire any bureaucrats involved in censorship.
- DOJ Investigation: Direct the Department of Justice to prosecute those involved in online censorship.
- Section 230 Reform: Amend Section 230 to hold tech platforms to standards of neutrality and transparency, limiting their ability to censor lawful speech.
- Defunding Censorship: Stop federal support for nonprofits and universities involved in censorship and penalize any that interfere with elections.
- Digital Bill of Rights: Establish user rights for online platforms, including the right to appeal content restrictions and opt out of content moderation.
“If we don’t have free speech, then we just don’t have a free country,” Trump said in the 2022 announcement. “It’s as simple as that. If this most fundamental right is allowed to perish, then the rest of our rights and liberties will topple. Just like dominoes, one by one, they’ll go down.
“That’s why today I’m announcing my plan to shatter the left-wing censorship regime, and to reclaim the right to free speech for all Americans. And reclaim is a very important word in this case because they’ve taken it away.”
He continued: “In recent weeks, bombshell reports have confirmed that a sinister group of Deep State bureaucrats, Silicon Valley tyrants, left-wing activists, and depraved corporate news media have been conspiring to manipulate and silence the American People. They have collaborated to suppress vital information on everything from elections to public health.”
“The censorship cartel must be dismantled and destroyed—and it must happen immediately,” he said.
More recently, Vice President-Elect, J.D. Vance issued a similar warning to the West, arguing that the United States should condition its military support on respect for American values, particularly free speech.
“What America should be saying is, if NATO wants us to continue supporting them, and NATO wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance, why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech?” Vance said.
Vance called it “insane” for the U.S. to back any alliance that doesn’t promote free speech, adding, “American power comes with certain strings attached, one of those is respect for free speech – especially in our European allies.
“Look, I’m not going to go to some backwards country and tell them how to live their lives, but European countries should theoretically share American values, especially about some very basic things, like free speech,” he said.
Speaking this week to Brian Marlow, President of the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance and campaigner at CitizenGo, Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts noted Vance’s remarks and asked if the Misinformation Bill currently being introduced by the Australian Government would likely undermine Australia’s relationship with the United States, particularly the AUKUS deal.
Marlow agreed, calling the proposed legislation “null, void, and dead in the water.”
“If I were running a major social media platform—Facebook, Google, or even X—I’d simply shut down my Australian operations and continue from the U.S., where free speech protections apply. I’d ignore Australia’s legislation entirely, knowing they wouldn’t actually shut me down,” Marlow said.
He further expressed distrust toward government involvement in “misinformation” control, citing numerous examples of government-led misinformation, including the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” claims, the Russia collusion narrative, the Hunter Biden laptop story, “safe and effective” assurances, and Gladys Berejiklian’s absurd COVID guidance on social distancing.
“This legislation,” Marlow added, “is like saying we have a bushfire problem, so let’s hand over power to the arsonists.”
Marlow went on to describe Australia’s misinformation bill as a direct attack on Australia’s democracy, arguing that measures, such as X’s Community Notes are far more effective than anything the government would be able to achieve.
Trump’s free speech initiative, alongside Vance’s recent remarks, is being viewed as a stark warning for Western governments closely allied with the United States. As these governments adopt more anti-“misinformation” measures, President-Elect Trump’s policy could stand as an unyielding bulwark for free speech online—not only for Americans but for the entire, so-called, “free world.”
