To: Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: September 15, 2026
Subject: NTU’s Views on S. 4749 at the September 16 Committee Markup
I. Introduction and Key Taxpayer Considerations
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write regarding S. 4749, the Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression (JAWBONE) Act. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is scheduled to consider the bill on September 16, 2026. NTU supports S. 4749.
Informal coercion can hide government policymaking from taxpayers and Congress. It can let an agency seek a result without issuing a rule or defending its action in court.
Federal officials may inform and persuade. They may also enforce valid law. They may not use government power to coerce a private service into changing lawful expression. S. 4749 would set that boundary. It would create a path to court and require agencies to log covered communications. The Office of Science and Technology Policy would publish descriptions of those communications.
II. Legislation NTU Supports at the September 16 Markup
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced S. 4749, which would bar the federal government from coercing or attempting to coerce a covered speech intermediary to take action affecting lawful expression. Covered intermediaries include broadcasters and online or artificial intelligence services. The bill calls the affected decisions “content actions.” The term covers adding or removing material, as well as changes to material, moderation policies, recommendation systems, user access, AI outputs, and broadcast programming.
The bill lists eight factors for deciding whether government conduct is coercive. They include the official’s authority, tone, references to adverse action, disclaimers of legal force, facts supplied, and the recipient’s response. The prohibition would not apply to lawful investigations or enforcement that complies with the First Amendment. It also exempts warrant-authorized actions. An agency may still direct how its own account or service is used.
NTU has long advocated on behalf of free speech for taxpayers. Our Section 230 work supports private control over moderation decisions. NTU Foundation has also defended the First Amendment right of social media companies to exercise editorial control. Operation Choke Point offers a related analogy. NTU opposed regulatory pressure that pushed financial institutions to cut off lawful businesses and has supported removing subjective reputational risk standards from federal bank supervision. Government officials should use clear legal authority instead of informal leverage.
S. 4749 would let an aggrieved person bring a federal claim. Courts could award compensatory damages and reasonable litigation costs. They could also grant equitable relief. Punitive damages would be barred. State attorneys general could sue on behalf of residents.
The bill includes a limited discovery procedure. When a defendant moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim or lack of standing, the opposing party could ask the court for up to 30 days of discovery limited to answering that motion. A court could grant one 30-day extension for good cause.
The reporting provisions deserve a cost estimate. The National Institute of Standards and Technology would set recordkeeping standards. The Office of Science and Technology Policy would operate a searchable governmentwide portal, and agency inspectors general would audit compliance. If an officer or employee is sued in an individual capacity and elects representation, the Department of Justice must provide it. The federal government would generally pay an individual-capacity monetary judgment unless a court finds willful and wanton conduct.
Those mandates would require staff time and operating resources even though the introduced bill does not authorize a specific appropriation. A search of the Congressional Budget Office’s published cost estimates did not locate an estimate for S. 4749 as of September 15, 2026. The Committee should request a cost estimate and keep the reporting system focused on communications about lawful expression.
III. Amendments to Watch
NTU’s support applies to the introduced text. The Committee should review any manager’s package or amendment that would:
- Lower the bill's standard for coercion or attempted coercion.
- Change the exceptions for lawful investigations or warrant-authorized actions.
- Weaken protections for classified information, child sexual abuse material, personal privacy, trade secrets, or cybersecurity.
- Expand damages, discovery, federal indemnification, or state attorney general authority.
- Broaden the reporting portal or create new spending authority without a cost estimate.
IV. Conclusion
Federal agencies should not use regulatory power to make private companies suppress lawful speech. S. 4749 would give affected speakers a path to court and make covered government contacts visible to Congress and the public. NTU supports the bill. The Committee should preserve its fact-specific coercion standard while preventing unnecessary litigation and administrative costs.
Questions about this memo may be directed to Alessandra Desiderio, Director, Center for Emerging Technologies (adesiderio@ntu.org).