ADC: STOP HATE Act is a Dangerous Attack on Free Speech and The Right to Dissent
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2025
media@adc.org
Washington, D.C. | The American‑Arab Anti‑Discrimination Committee (ADC) is deeply alarmed by the continuous efforts by lawmakers to silence, censor, and chill freedom of speech and expression in this country at the behest of Israel. What we’re seeing is a total disgrace—another outrageous attempt by corrupt Washington insiders to hand over your First Amendment rights to Israel. The introduction of the Stopping Terrorists Online Presence and Holding Accountable Tech Entities (STOP HATE) Act, unveiled yesterday by AIPAC funded Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D) and Don Bacon (R) at a Capitol Hill press conference alongside the Anti‑Defamation League (ADL), is the latest example of bipartisan disregard of the First Amendment.
There is no mincing of words – these law makers are putting Israel First.
Framed as a measure to curb extremist content, the bill instead deputizes and hands over “speech enforcement authority” to zionists entities, giving them unfettered powers to police private social media companies, attack lawful expression, and levy fines of up to five million dollars each day if companies fail to silence and censor users.
ADC warned about this playbook recently. In California, SB 771 promised to combat “hate” but instead created crushing liability for any platform whose algorithms happened to transmit speech that private actors, such as the ADL, deemed objectionable. The STOP HATE Act scales that same model of SB771 to the federal level.
An analysis and review of the bill shows that, faced with that risk, companies will preemptively start deleting users who express views and opinions that could possibly open them up to fines. These bills are explicitly written to target speech that is critical of Israel. Coupled with efforts around the forced adaptation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism, we are seeing an unprecedented attack on our First Amendment rights.
“The First Amendment is supposed to be the cornerstone of American democracy—our shield against censorship and government overreach. No foreign nation, including Israel, should have the power to dictate what Americans can or cannot say. Our rights are not negotiable. When members of Congress and state lawmakers start compromising our freedoms to satisfy the demands of a foreign government, we lose what makes this country free. We must reject any legislation that threatens our speech, our conscience, and our right to dissent,” said Abed Ayoub, ADC National Executive Director.
After passage of the Patriot Act post 9/11, banks shuttered thousands of Arab- and Muslim‑American accounts not because their owners had been proven to support terrorism, but because the institutions feared crippling fines. The STOP HATE Act would reproduce the post 9/11 chilling effect in the digital sphere, forcing platforms to silence voices, especially dissenting critics of Israel, simply to avoid litigation and penalties.
ADC categorically rejects any attempt to equate constitutionally protected speech with extremism and antisemitism. By coercing companies to remove or suppress lawful content, the STOP HATE Act violates core constitutional protections, undermines Section 230’s safe‑harbor framework, and invites discriminatory enforcement against marginalized communities.
ADC calls on every member of Congress to stand on the side of the Constitution and oppose the STOP HATE Act.
