House Republicans fault State Department office for skirting mandate on funding 'censorship' groups

House Republicans released an interim report on Tuesday accusing an office within the State Department of skirting its duty to crack down on foreign disinformation by funding groups engaged in “censorship” against small businesses in the United States.

The report was conducted by investigators on the Republican-led House Small Business Committee, and claimed the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) promoted “tech start-ups and other small businesses in the disinformation detection space, to private sector entities with domestic censorship capabilities," the Washington Examiner reported. 

“This interim report outlines how government agencies are working with the private sector to ensure that certain businesses do not have a fair chance to compete online,” House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams said in a statement. “Even worse, this report uncovers how taxpayer dollars contributed to the censorship that picks winners and losers in the online marketplace.”

The 66-page report, titled “Instruments and Casualties of the Censorship-Industrial Complex," comes as House Republicans attempt to cut funding for the GEC through the annual State Department appropriations bill. The bill has passed the House but still needs to be negotiated in the Senate.

The GEC, which was created by former President Barack Obama in 2016, works with the Defense Department, Justice Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, among other agencies.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.