newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The return of free speech protections on Twitter is fueling left-wing panic that its dominance over social media may be coming to an end. Now some of the biggest supporters of censorship in Congress have explicitly warned Facebook not to follow Twitter in order to restore freedom of speech to the platform.
In a chilling letter from Rep. Adam Schiff of California, Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana, Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, and Rep. Sheldon White House of Iowa, Facebook said, “Not so much ” was evaluated. A subtle threat to invite Congressional action by curtailing the notorious censorship system. His letter to Nick Clegg, Meta’s Global Affairs President, was written in Congressional stationery “as part of an ongoing surveillance effort.”
With Republicans in the House pledging to investigate social media censorship when they took office in January, these four Democrats forced Facebook to “recommit” to censoring dissenting voices and reforming its election censorship policy. to be made permanent. Failure to do so could force Facebook to monitor moves to “change or roll back certain misinformation policies,” they suggest.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on October 25, 2019.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
In addition to demanding that Facebook maintain its ban on figures like former President Donald Trump, they want Facebook to expand censorship across the board.
Charge Jack Dorsey?Former Twitter CEO’s potential liability after congressional testimony
Clegg was given Schiff’s phone number to discuss Facebook compliance. This is the cynical contact of the letter regarding the censorship of “disinformation”. After all, Schiff was one of the members of Congress who pushed false claims that Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation ahead of the 2020 presidential election and the 2016 election. has been criticized for promoting a false narrative about Trump-Russia collusion. .
The letter to Mr. Clegg is reminiscent of another letter sent to cable networks last year by several Democratic lawmakers. (For full disclosure, I appear as a Fox News legal analyst.) As I later discussed in congressional testimony, it is these people who censor dissent by proxy or by proxy. It was an open effort by Democrats.
Rep. Adam Schiff speaks to reporters after hearings at the Capitol on June 21, 2022.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semanski)
This isn’t the first time some members of Congress have failed to subtly warn social media companies to expand their censorship of political and scientific views they deem erroneous.
At a Senate hearing in November 2020, then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey apologized for censoring Hunter Biden’s laptop story. warned that he and his senators would not tolerate “retreating or curtailing” by “taking no action against dangerous disinformation.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and others are calling on social media companies to use smart algorithms to “protect” people from making their own “bad” choices. After all, as President Joe Biden asked without censorship or savvy editors, “How do people know the truth?”
Senator Elizabeth Warren appears on “The View.”
Now Democrats fear Facebook and other social media companies will “revert” to free speech. Needless to say, these congressional Democrats especially want assurances that these layoffs won’t cut staff dedicated to social media censorship.
FEC has released documents released by Musk that the company may have lied outright, so Twitter investigation should be reopened
Determining the cause of the alarm is not difficult. This pending warning is meant to stop a cascading failure of the once insurmountable wall of social media censorship. Control over social media could evaporate if Facebook restores its free speech protections.
A record number of users have signed up despite efforts by the left to boycott Twitter and cut off advertising revenue, according to Twitter owner Elon Musk. A freer and more transparent platform. ”
SpaceX founder Elon Musk at a joint T-Mobile and SpaceX event on August 25, 2022 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas.
(Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)
The pressure on Facebook is ironic, and even welcome censorship, given the company’s efforts to convince the public to accept it. The company launched a macabre advertising campaign about how young people should embrace censorship (or “content alteration” in today’s Orwellian parlance) as part of its evolution with technology. It didn’t work; most people aren’t willing to accept censorship. Instead, many of them are clearly investing in Twitter.
The public reaction has led censorship advocates to seek allies abroad. Figures like Hillary Clinton have called on European countries to enforce censorship on American citizens.
Censorship not only costs free speech, but it clearly costs these companies. Nonetheless, some members of Congress are demanding that Facebook and other companies offer a “final and complete dedication” to the censorship cause. Despite their apparent preference, Facebook has been asked to turn its back on them (and their shareholders) and continue to eliminate dissenting voices on issues ranging from COVID to climate change.
Click here to get the opinion newsletter
These members know that censorship only works if there are no alternatives. The problem is that there are alternatives. Fox News is reportedly watched by more Democrats than his left-leaning rival CNN.
For some reason, these companies are facing a decline in interest in what they offer. But some Democrats are pressuring them to double down on the same course of effectively canceling out half the voter and audience markets.
This type of pressure has worked in the past because individual executives dislike being personally tagged in these campaigns. are paying the price.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
As an internal Twitter document released by Musk shows, many companies (in the case of Twitter, pre-Musk, if not diligently) have censored by proxy in the past. Some officials knew they could get around the First Amendment by having these companies block dissent on their behalf. But the public and markets may thrive where the Constitution couldn’t, and that’s exactly what these officials will do when they see social media control eroding heading into the 2024 elections. That’s what I’m afraid of.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg once famously told his company to “move fast and break things.” But when it comes to censorship, these lawmakers warn, “Not so fast!” If Facebook is considering taking a break in favor of free speech.
Click here to read more about Jonathan Turley
