George Soros, Google, and the ADL all have something in common: they all take interest in “white nationalism” online.
Google sent an interesting representative to the hearing on “Hate Crimes and the Rise of White Nationalism” on April 9. Alexandria Walden, Google’s Counsel on Free Expression and Human Rights, was introduced by the House Judiciary Committee Chairman as a former Center for American Progress employee. The center is a liberal non-profit that was founded by President Clinton’s former chief of staff John Podesta, and funded by liberal billionaire George Soros.
Walden, according to a bio, “builds partnerships to combat Internet censorship and filtering around the globe,” at Google. As part of her international work, she “worked to defend the idea that each country should be able to balance freedom of expression and privacy in the way that country sees fit, and not according to another country’s interpretation.” It could be argued that such a definition would enable a country like China to continue with its heavily censored online activity.
Google already had a friend at the hearing, however. Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-New York) tweeted on April 8 that he was “Honored to join #GrowwithGoogle for its launch with partners @GoodwillNYNJ @HudsonGuild @galeabrewer & others.” According to OpenSecrets.org, Nadler’s top donor for his 2018 campaign was Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which donated $26,000. Google is a major landlord and employer in Nadler’s district.
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While tech censorship was not the primary focus of discussion in the hearing, it was mentioned. The spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League, Eileen Hershenov, blamed platforms like Gab and 8chan for being “recruiting grounds for terrorists” and “round the clock white supremacist rallies.” She also stated that the rhetoric of “elected officials and candidates” was encouraging white nationalist crime.
Gab responded to Hershenov on Twitter, saying, “Gab is a viewpoint neutral publishing tool with nearly 1 million law abiding and peaceful registered users. Gab allows all speech which is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
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