Democrats recently released plans to fight “Online Misinformation” that featured a blueprint for online censorship. Congressional Democrats, however, have sponsored or co-sponsored at least 18 Big Tech bills with Republicans. That combination raises huge questions about their actual goals and could undermine bipartisan support.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) published its “Recommendations for Combating Online Misinformation,” which stated that social media companies “still have much to do to reduce the spread of disinformation.” The document featured a 14-point plan to solve the issue of the supposed spread of disinformation.
The plan urged companies to “[p]romote authoritative news over highly engaging news in content algorithms,” to “[e]nforce a comprehensive political misinformation policy” and to “[e]nforce rules on hate speech consistently and comprehensively.”
The DNC’s last recommendation, “[e]stablish a policy against the distribution of hacked materials,” is especially alarming. Big Tech companies interfered with the 2020 presidential election by censoring the incriminating scandals of then-candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Twitter falsely claimed Hunter’s laptop information was “hacked” material.
Internet Accountability Project founder and president Mike Davis exclusively told MRC Free Speech America that the “solution to misinformation is more free speech.” Davis explained, “While leftists want to censor and de-platform those deemed problematic to their interests … A competition of ideas will lead to a more informed American public. Silencing one side’s political opposition leads down a dangerous road. In China, the communist government has complete control over news and information—this is the logical conclusion of the effort by so-called ‘progressives’ to censor those with whom they disagree.”
Davis added, “Thankfully, both sides can agree that Big Tech is too big and too unaccountable, and they must be broken up and reined in for the good of the American consumer, economy and national security.” Davis said serious disagreements on censorship shouldn’t harm progress on bipartisan issues “such as antitrust modernization and enforcement.” Davis ended, “Ultimately, a more competitive Big Tech industry will produce more options for those who value free speech.”
The DNC openly admitted a partnership between social media platforms and the Democrat Party in the recommendations. “The DNC is working with major social media companies to combat platform manipulation and train our campaigns on how best to secure their accounts and protect their brands against disinformation,” the plan said. “Social media companies are ultimately responsible for combating abuse and disinformation on their systems, but as an interested party, we’ve compiled this comparative policy analysis to present social media companies with additional potential solutions.” [Emphasis added].
Through these recommendations, the DNC has starkly defined itself as pro-censorship. Meanwhile, House and Senate Democrats sponsored or cosponsored at least 18 social media or tech app-related bills introduced in 2021 or 2022, according to MRC Free Speech America research.
In many cases, apparently pro-free speech bills may prove potentially anti-free speech upon closer look. For example, the bipartisan Open App Markets Act prevents a “covered company” from imposing certain restrictions on apps, except if the company’s action is allegedly “necessary to achieve user privacy, security, or digital safety.” Bill co-sponsors Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), along with the DNC’s content moderation manifesto, claim that so-called “misinformation” online is dangerous, a warning sign for free speech.
Prominent leftist Big Tech critic Klobuchar has called multiple times for increased online censorship. Blumenthal, another major figure in recent tech reform efforts, and Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) have endorsed increased censorship as well.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand they hold Big Tech to account to provide transparency, provide clarity on hate speech and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
