A new House committee report released this week said internal communications from Big Tech executives revealed “damning findings” about the Biden administration’s attempts to muzzle the platforms.
Following a subpoena from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) last year, tech giants including Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft were investigated for their interactions with the federal government. “I want to understand how and to what extent the executive branch enforced speech censorship and colluded with corporations and other intermediaries,” Jordan said at the time.
The House Judiciary Committee’s 800-page report, “Censorship and the Industrial Complex: How Biden White House Officials Forced Big Tech Companies to Censor Americans, True Information, and Critics of the Biden Administration” ” and includes several examples of platforms censoring relevant information. The impact of top-down pressure on COVID-19.
NSA announces new artificial intelligence security center: ‘Sorely needed’
Big tech companies were under pressure from the Biden administration, a report found. (Fox News Digital)
The email also revealed that while the Biden administration wants to crack down on “vaccine misinformation,” some executives are not willing to bow to pressure. Other executives made concessions to limit larger problems.
“After obtaining and reviewing tens of thousands of emails and other related non-public documents, the committee and the task force find out how and to what extent President Biden will encourage corporations to suppress free speech. “We are now able to provide a more complete picture of whether or not people have been coerced,” the report said. I got it.
Big Tech changed its content moderation policies in 2021, according to the report. Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon have all adjusted their policies to censor information ranging from COVID-19 “misinformation” to the types of books allowed on Amazon Marketplace.
“In fact, both Facebook and Amazon called President Biden’s efforts ‘pressure,’” the report said.
Hundreds of parents call on Schumer to act on social media safety bill for kids: ‘At the ultimate price’
Meta Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The report says President Biden’s censorship campaign also targets truthful information, satire, and other content that does not violate platform policies. According to an internal email from Facebook executives in July 2021, Facebook will remove “negative information and opinions about vaccines” and “humorous or satirical content that suggests vaccines are unsafe.” This shows that he understands President Biden’s position.
In July 2021, Facebook executive Nick Clegg asked via email why the company censored rumors of a coronavirus lab leak. One employee replied, “It was because of pressure from the company.” [Biden] The administration and others should have done more…we shouldn’t have done it. ”
Audience cheers as Mr. Graham tells Mr. Zuckerberg, “You have blood on your hands.”
The Biden administration was accused of “pressuring” big tech companies in a censorship report. (Hannah Baier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In another case in July 2021, Facebook executives were revealed to be trying to appease the Biden administration. Mr. Clegg sent the following email to his internal colleagues:[g]big fish to fry [Biden] The government said, “Facebook should consider how it can respond.” [the Administration’s] Concerns. “
The report comes as big tech companies have faced criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in recent months. In March, the Supreme Court heard arguments challenging the Biden administration’s alleged coordination with Big Tech to censor certain political messages.
