{"id":1065488,"date":"2021-11-29T16:59:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T21:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1065488"},"modified":"2021-11-29T16:59:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T21:59:08","slug":"republicans-warn-of-censorship-from-radical-new-twitter-ceo-parag-agrawal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-warn-of-censorship-from-radical-new-twitter-ceo-parag-agrawal\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Warn Of \u2018Censorship\u2019 From \u2018Radical\u2019 New Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublicans-warn-of-censorship-from-radical-new-twitter-ceo-parag-agrawal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1065488&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that Twitter\u2019s new Chief Executive Parag Agrawal may threaten conservative political content on the social media platform, pointing to his past remarks regarding online speech.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cBased off his previous comments, it seems clear conservatives will continue to be silenced while actual calls for violence from our adversaries like Iran, China and the Taliban are offered a safe haven,\u201d Rep. Lance Gooden, who co-chairs the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lawmakers also drew attention to Agrawal\u2019s previous tweets, including one in which he compared assumptions regarding the prevalence of Islamic extremism to assumptions that all white people are racist.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cThe choice of Twitter\u2019s new CEO is extremely troubling and cements the company\u2019s intent to silence opposing view points. Mr. Agrawal has called religion a pyramid scheme and questioned if all white people are racist,\u201d Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the DCNF, referencing an Agrawal tweet&nbsp;from 2011. \u201cThese views are not normal \u2014 they are extremely radical.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that Twitter\u2019s new Chief Executive Parag Agrawal may threaten conservative political speech on the social media platform.<\/p>\n<p>Agrawal, Twitter\u2019s former chief technology officer who was announced as CEO following Jack Dorsey\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/11\/29\/jack-dorsey-twitter-ceo-step-down\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">decision<\/a> to step down early Monday, has previously highlighted the perceived threat of online \u201cmisinformation,\u201d calling to depart from free speech considerations in favor of other concerns in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2020\/11\/18\/1012066\/emtech-stage-twitters-cto-on-misinformation\/\"><u>interview<\/u><\/a> with MIT Technology Review in November 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation,\u201d Agrawal said. \u201cThe kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agrawal previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/tech\/mobile\/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-explains-his-vision-for-social-medias-future\/\"><u>oversaw<\/u><\/a> development <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paraga\/status\/1204766188074459136\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">efforts<\/a> on Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform intended to \u201cbetter control abusive and misleading information.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/23\/twitter-jim-banks-rachel-levine-transgender\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: \u2018Hateful Conduct\u2019: Twitter Locks Rep. Jim Banks Account For Calling Rachel Levine A Man)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"7.1710526315789\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Didn\u2019t think it could get much worse than Jack Dorsey.<\/p>\n<p>But yikes. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EOycoPbTTz\">pic.twitter.com\/EOycoPbTTz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JudiciaryGOP\/status\/1465365574297559045?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 29, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican lawmakers worry Agrawal may impose stricter content moderation policies and more aggressively censor conservative content.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased off his previous comments, it seems clear conservatives will continue to be silenced while actual calls for violence from our adversaries like Iran, China and the Taliban are offered a safe haven,\u201d Rep. Lance Gooden, who co-chairs the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers also drew attention to Agrawal\u2019s previous <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211129164017\/https:\/twitter.com\/paraga\/status\/28773976508\">tweets<\/a>, including one in which he compared assumptions regarding the prevalence of Islamic extremism to assumptions that all white people are racist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists,\u201d Agrawal tweeted with quotation marks, though it is unclear who he was quoting. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/20\/twitter-lawsuit-jack-dorsey-securities-and-exchange-commission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Twitter Offers $800 Million To Settle Class Action Lawsuit Over Claims It Misled Investors)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe choice of Twitter\u2019s new CEO is extremely troubling and cements the company\u2019s intent to silence opposing view points. Mr. Agrawal has called religion a pyramid scheme and questioned if all white people are racist,\u201d Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the DCNF, referencing an Agrawal <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paraga\/status\/18633204491620352\">tweet<\/a>&nbsp;from 2011. \u201cThese views are not normal \u2014 they are extremely radical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agrawal has also expressed <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paraga\/status\/825476759957151744\">support<\/a>&nbsp;for left-wing causes, posting a screenshot of his donation to the American Civil Liberties Union in their lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"6.6923076923077\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A new tech robber baron who has even less respect for free speech than his predecessor <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FB1TyMSg0M\">https:\/\/t.co\/FB1TyMSg0M<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HawleyMO\/status\/1465367113988771859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 29, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt is no surprise the person being tapped to take over for Jack Dorsey as CEO of Twitter would have a warped sense of reality and a tendency to lean towards censorship, book banning and stoking racial tensions,\u201d Nick Givas, director of communications for Rep. Ken Buck who serves with Gooden as co-chair of the Freedom from Big Tech Caucus, told the DCNF. \u201cParag Agrawal will just be more of the same. Until the American people see actual changes within Big Tech, and Rep. Buck\u2019s antitrust measures and bills to help create competition are passed by Congress, a new executive officer at the company means nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other Republicans weighed in on social media, expressing their concern over Agrawal\u2019s ascension to CEO.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA new tech robber baron who has even less respect for free speech than his predecessor,\u201d Sen. Josh Hawley <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HawleyMO\/status\/1465367113988771859\">tweeted<\/a>&nbsp;in response to Agrawal\u2019s remarks in his interview with MIT Technology review.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDidn\u2019t think it could get much worse than Jack Dorsey,\u201d the Twitter account of House Judiciary Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JudiciaryGOP\/status\/1465365574297559045\/photo\/1\">tweeted<\/a>&nbsp;in response to Agrawal\u2019s comments on white people. \u201cBut yikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twitter did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that Twitter\u2019s new Chief Executive Parag Agrawal may threaten conservative political content on the social media platform, pointing to his past remarks regarding online speech. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1065488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1065488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1065488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1065488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1065488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}