Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) is holding Google and Meta’s feet to the fire for their stances on censorship and free speech before the November election.
Schmitt sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, probing the CEOs about the “alarming” trend of election-interfering censorship and cautioning them against collaborating with government entities to censor Americans. “As we approach the 2024 election, it is imperative that this pattern of censorship does not repeat because free and open discourse is essential for a fair and democratic election process,” he stated.
The senator began his letter by noting the trend of social media companies being used “to suppress American citizens’ speech, particularly conservative speech.”
Schmitt later referred to evidence that President Joe Biden, his campaigns and his administration have attempted to pressure social media companies to censor certain content before and after he became president.
“The Biden campaign, colluding with your organizations, enacted a coordinated campaign to suppress the free speech of millions of Americans,” Schmitt wrote Pichai and Zuckerberg. “Since 2020, President Biden, his campaign, and his Administration repeatedly attacked your companies and threatened to revoke Section 230 protections if your companies did not conspire to censor speech opposed to their agenda.”
The Missouri senator stressed, however, that this cannot continue. “The government must not commandeer a private entity to suppress the speech of American citizens or journalists,” he said.
Schmitt explained the consequences of such suppression, noting that nearly half of the U.S. population uses social media to source and curate their news. “Unelected officials or corporate policies should not control the marketplace of ideas,” Schmitt continued. Indeed, “The Founding Fathers enshrined the First Amendment after witnessing the costly effects of speech suppression.”
Schmitt referred to the lawsuit he filed while he was the Attorney General of Missouri against government officials that allegedly colluded with Big Tech. Murthy v. Missouri “highlighted how government officials, including President Biden and White House officials, coerced and colluded with social media companies to censor speech” by labeling that speech disinformation and misinformation. The Supreme Court punted on Schmitt’s suit in June.
Sen. Schmitt’s choice to target Meta and Google with this letter is apt, particularly as the 2024 election approaches. An MRC Free Speech America study found Google has interfered in U.S. elections 41 times since 2008, and Facebook interfered 39 times.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide an equal platform for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using MRC Free Speech America’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
