American institutions from Hollywood to universities are increasingly engaging in self-censorship, not in response to domestic law, but to foreign influence, particularly from the Chinese Communist Party . The result is a restriction of free speech and public debate without a single law being passed.

This form of voluntary censorship is driven primarily by economics. The Chinese market, with its 1.4 billion consumers, has become a carrot and stick for American institutions. The “carrot” is access: lucrative markets, massive audiences, and funding for research. The “stick” is exclusion, blacklists, revoked visas, pulled investments, and the death of entire careers for stepping out of line.

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