Three Big Tech CEOs are headed to the Senate to testify tomorrow October 28 in the midst of the worst example of online censorship this election. Republican senators are ready for a fight.
The hearing has gained attention following Twitter’s censorship and Facebook’s suppression of the New York Post story that claimed to expose alleged corrupt dealings of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in Ukraine.
Republicans were livid about the censorship of the Post’s story. In a letter to Twitter, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) called Twitter’s censorship of the Post’s story “hypocritical, given its willingness to allow users to share less-well-sourced reporting critical of other candidates for public office.”
Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA) said in a tweet: “Big Tech isn't even trying to hide it. They're bending over backwards to protect @JoeBiden & interfere in America's election. Monopolies like @Twitter & @Facebook have the power to sway the outcome by censoring information. @GOPoversight and I are demanding emergency action.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify before the committee in a hearing entitled “Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior?” regarding government regulations and what is called Section 230. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a separate hearing in November that will host Zuckerberg and Dorsey about
The October 28 hearing “will examine whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has outlived its usefulness in today’s digital age. It will also examine legislative proposals to modernize the decades-old law, increase transparency and accountability among big technology companies for their content moderation practices, and explore the impact of large ad-tech platforms on local journalism and consumer privacy,” according to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation website.
Republicans are gearing up for the hearing. “#BigTech is abusing its monopoly power to suppress free speech and censor the free press just days before one of the most consequential elections in our lifetimes. On Wednesday at @SenateCommerce, I’ll be demanding answers on behalf of the American people,” Cruz tweeted on October 26.
“Next week, I’ll be asking Big Tech CEOs why they censor conservatives like @realDonaldTrump but not dictators like @NicolasMaduro or anti-Uyghur propaganda from Communist China,” said Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) via Twitter on October 22.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representative and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
