Mike Benz is an American commentator and former lawyer who runs the Foundation for Freedom Online, a group that campaigns against what it calls internet censorship. He worked as a speechwriter in the first Trump administration and briefly at the US State Department, and has become a prominent voice on the right about government involvement in online content moderation.
Brian Rose has interviewed Benz twice on London Real, in March and November 2024. They covered his argument that US government agencies fund a censorship industry that pressures tech platforms, and what he expected from Donald Trump’s second term on Big Tech and free speech.
Both interviews are listed below.
Weapons of Mass Deletion (March 2024). His first appearance and the fullest version of his argument about government-funded censorship.
Benz argues that since around 2016 a network of government agencies, contractors, universities and non-profits has grown up to monitor and flag online speech, and that it is funded largely by the US government.
Speaking in March 2024, he said that what he was describing amounted to military rule, because national security bodies were shaping what citizens could say online.
Benz says his time in the State Department in the first Trump administration showed him how closely government and Big Tech were working together, which led him to found the Foundation for Freedom Online.
In November 2024 he welcomed Trump’s stated plans to curb Big Tech content moderation, but said supporters should keep a close eye on Republicans for early signs of betrayal.
Mike Benz is an American commentator and former lawyer who leads the Foundation for Freedom Online. He worked as a speechwriter and State Department official in the first Trump administration.
In two interviews with Brian Rose in 2024, Benz argued that US government agencies fund an online censorship industry, and discussed what Donald Trump’s second term might mean for Big Tech and free speech.
Start with Weapons of Mass Deletion from March 2024, which sets out his main argument in full.
Twice, both in 2024: in March and in November, shortly after the US presidential election.
The Foundation for Freedom Online is a group led by Mike Benz as executive director. It describes itself as a free speech watchdog that researches what it sees as government-backed internet censorship.
Benz uses the phrase for what he describes as a network of government agencies, contractors, universities and non-profits working to monitor and limit online speech.
Official site: foundationforfreedomonline.com
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