United States: The freedom of expression agenda
On 20 January 2025, Donald Trump officially became the 47th president of the United States. His previous term was marked by an open hostility towards media, civil society and any voices that dared to criticise him. All signs point to the assumption that President Trump and his allies are likely to continue to twist the meaning of free speech to suit their political agenda. On the day of his inauguration, ARTICLE 19 outlines our free expression priorities for the United States and beyond, which we will continue to defend over the next 4 years of Trump’s presidency.
The reelection of Donald Trump comes at the time of the ongoing global crisis of freedom of expression and democratic backsliding. From brazen attacks on the media, scapegoating of groups at risk and threatening those who criticise him to undermining the rule of law and international checks against authoritarianism, President Trump’s actions pose grave risks to freedom of expression not only in the United States but worldwide.
As a global freedom of expression organisation we remain clear: free speech does not grant the right to harass, target and discriminate with impunity. It does not give those with deep pockets the right to use their money to sue others into silence in an effort to entrench power.
Protecting freedom of expression means ensuring that everyone, especially those with less power, can use their voices to challenge the powerful, question the status quo and demand change.
The United States has a proud tradition of safeguarding and championing freedom of expression and associated rights through the US Constitution, including freedom of the press and the rights of speech, privacy and equality. Over the next 4 years, ARTICLE 19 will continue to defend those rights – and continue to remind those in power what it truly means to protect free speech.
Protecting media freedom and safety of journalists
President Trump’s well-documented hostility towards the media is a direct attack on the public’s right to know. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump openly endorsed violence towards journalists and threatened retribution against media outlets that cover him negatively, including revocation of broadcasting licenses and even jailing reporters. His nominee for the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has previously called for the prosecution of journalists.
Attacks on the media erode trust, contribute to the growing polarization in the country and contribute to the increased risk of physical violence against journalists. Research finds that the present political climate in the US is more tolerant toward physical attacks against journalists.
At the same time, legacy media companies, often owned and sustained by wealthy individuals, are increasingly willing to sacrifice journalistic integrity to protect their commercial interests. As Donald Trump assumes office, those owners have found it increasingly inconvenient to support and stand up for independent reporting out of fear of getting on the wrong side of political agendas.
Without the media’s ability to report without fear or favor, democracies lose an essential ability to hold power to account. ARTICLE 19 will stand up for journalists’ right to report and protect press freedom – regardless of whether the attacks come from the Administration or from powerful business interests.
Defending freedom of expression online – for all
In recent years, social media companies faced increased scrutiny for their content moderation. Around the world, we have witnessed time and again how poor online moderation practices lead to real-world violence and discrimination. While much of the criticism has been valid, President Trump and his supporters focused on attacking companies as a ‘censorship cartel’ for what they perceived to be ‘liberal bias’ and the censoring of conservative voices. Multiple forthcoming appointees in the new administration, including chairs of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, have indicated that they will take regulatory measures against platforms that engage in ‘excessive’ content moderation.
We are already seeing the consequences of those threats. On 7 January, Meta announced an overhaul of its content moderation practices, which is likely to lead to increased harm against communities at risk not only in the United States but globally. Loosening content moderation standards paradoxically threatens free expression. As unchecked disinformation and harassment campaigns targeting minorities, including LGBTQ people and migrants, proliferate online, people are driven off platforms, chilling their expression online, just as happened when Elon Musk took over Twitter / X.
Meta has also announced its willingness to work with Donald Trump to ‘push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor’. We fully support pushing back on efforts by governments to censor lawful speech. The announcement however, signals determination to undermine any attempts by governments and bodies such as the European Union to use technology legislation to demand greater accountability from social media platforms.
ARTICLE 19 will continue to advocate for a human rights approach to content moderation, push back against platform policies that enable and encourage hate toward vulnerable communities and will continue to support regulatory efforts aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability of social media platforms. We will also continue our advocacy for a different social media environment, where people are given the power to choose what they see, access and share – so that business interests of a handful of American Big Tech companies are no longer allowed to control free expression online.
Safeguarding human rights in the digital age
The first Trump administration did not prioritize the promotion of internet freedom globally, cutting funds to digital diplomacy programmes and associating themselves with a number of autocratic regimes worldwide. At a time when global internet freedom is declining, and with the key internet governance process, the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)+20 Review underway in 2025, the United States’s strong commitment to a free and open internet and the safeguarding of human rights online is crucial.
In a departure from the previous administration, President Trump is also likely to take a hands-off approach to regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI). In 2023, the Biden administration issued an Executive Order on Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI, which included commitments to working with international partners on global standards and safeguards against algorithmic discrimination. President Trump has indicated he will repeal the order and Biden’s other AI policies and that he will ‘ban the use of AI to censor speech’. President Trump’s lack of commitment to responsible regulation will have profound effects on the ability to prevent the harmful and right-infringing uses of AI at the time when the adoption of those technologies is rapidly accelerating.
ARTICLE 19 has long noted that without robust safeguards and transparent governance, AI can have profoundly negative impacts on free speech, rights to protest, privacy, equality and non-discrimination. We will continue to advocate for AI governance that is rooted in human rights, and protects fundamental freedoms.
Standing up for protesters, human rights defenders and civil society
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and other legal threats against public watchdogs are likely to grow under the new administration. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to litigate against his rivals and opponents, and during his first term in office used legal action to punish his perceived enemies. His key ally Elon Musk, despite his self-declaration as a ‘free speech absolutist’, has been actively pursuing SLAPPs actions against his critics, including civil society organisations documenting the rise of racist and antisemitic content on X. Many US states do not possess anti-SLAPP legislation, and with the absence of protection on the federal level, nonprofit newsrooms, civil society, and individuals are likely to face increased risks as the Administration and its allies seek to silence any attempts to hold them to account.
At the height of Palestinian solidarity protests on US campuses last summer, Donald Trump vowed to ‘crush the protest movement’; his allies have been similarly hostile towards demonstrators. During his first presidency, Trump referred to people in the Black Lives Matters (BLM) movement as ‘thugs’ and called on law enforcement to use force and violence against BLM protesters. The incoming presidency is likely to threaten the essential American right to protest.
ARTICLE 19 will continue to defend the rights of all to criticise power-holders and we stand ready to defend the right to protest as an essential vehicle of affecting change in society.
Donald Trump assumes office at the time when authoritarian tendencies are on the rise around the world. Populist leaders, with their agendas openly hostile to human rights, are likely to feel emboldened in their efforts to control the narrative and silence dissent, co-opting ‘free speech’ to serve their political purposes.
ARTICLE 19 will stand with the global human rights movement to push back against those attempts. We will hold President Trump, and those whose decisions impact our rights, to account on their record on free expression – in the United States, and globally.
