Censorship reaches staggering new level as state, federal laws merge

Censorship is now “an intractable reality” on college campuses as federal and state powers have expanded “a sweeping web of political and ideological control,” according to one prominent anti-censorship group.

A new study from PEN America found that 2025 set a record for the number of states passing laws censoring higher education and for states enacting such legislation for the first time. As a result, more than half of all U.S. college students now study in a state with at least one law or policy that restricts teaching or campus operations.

During its first year in office, the Trump administration has attempted to dictate what colleges should teach and research by withholding research funding, distorting civil rights laws and weaponizing the accreditation process.

“With threats of formal sanctions and political reprisals coming from both state and federal governments, campus leaders and faculty feel they have no choice but to comply, and are increasingly acting preemptively out of fear,” said Amy Reid, program director of Freedom to Learn at PEN America.

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Lawmakers introduced a total of 93 bills aimed at higher education censorship, with 21 enacted into law in 15 states.

State lawmakers enacted 14 gag orders into law—a record number in a single year—limiting what colleges can discuss. Mississippi’s HB1193 bans university DEI offices and restricts teaching about race, sex, religion or other “divisive concepts.”

Laws can also indirectly chill speech by dismantling faculty governance, weakening tenure or exerting more political oversight over curricula. Last August, a bill in Texas abolished university faculty senates.

The Trump administration has attempted to exert broad control over higher education through several other means:

• Targeted over $3.7 billion in federal research funding
• Disrupted 383 clinical trials
• Proposed to suspend federal research from 38 universities over DEI practices
• Issued 19 executive orders, which target or affect higher education
• Attempts to reform accreditation

Four universities have paid a combined $305 million in settlement money to restore research funding.

Some institutions have fought back against what they describe as federal overreach. Over 50 lawsuits have been filed by universities and other higher education groups.

“Viewpoint diversity” was frequently cited by state and federal lawmakers when crafting bills and executive policy. “It’s just a coded phrase being used to censor certain progressive ideas, while promoting conservative ones,” said Jonathan Friedman, managing director of U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America. ”

The apparent aim is to turn colleges and universities into mouthpieces for the government,” Friedman added. “That’s not what our higher education institutions are supposed to be.”