{"id":1581070,"date":"2022-07-31T08:31:44","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T12:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1581070"},"modified":"2022-07-31T08:33:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-31T12:33:41","slug":"cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-and-seth-dillon-how-to-end-big-tech-censorship-of-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-and-seth-dillon-how-to-end-big-tech-censorship-of-free-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Seth Dillon: How to End Big Tech Censorship of Free Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/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%2Fcathy-mcmorris-rodgers-and-seth-dillon-how-to-end-big-tech-censorship-of-free-speech%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=1581070&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--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>For the crime of posting content that doesn\u2019t fit the woke liberal agenda, Big Tech flags, suppresses and outright bans users from its platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Consider how these companies target the Babylon Bee, a conservative satire website. The headline \u201cCNN Purchases Industrial-Sized Washing Machine to Spin News Before Publication\u201d caught the attention of Facebook\u2019s fact-checkers. Facebook attached a warning label to the article and threatened to reduce distribution and monetization if the Bee continued to post information disputed by Facebook\u2019s fact-checkers. This was an attack on the Bee\u2019s ability to run its business.<\/p>\n<p>Facebook says its approach to \u201cmisinformation\u201d is to address misleading claims that have the potential to cause harm. But who was in danger of being harmed here? In censoring comedy, Facebook isn\u2019t protecting its community from harm, but rather protecting particular targets of jokes from criticism. The only harm in that context is to our right to speak (and joke) freely.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter\u2019s tolerance for satire is lower. Twitter completely <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/21\/babylon-bee-editor-we-refuse-to-bow-to-twitters-censorship-of-a-joke\/\">silenced the Babylon Bee <\/a>and is holding its account hostage until it deletes a tweet about a transgender public figure in the Biden administration, Dr. Rachel Levine. The tweet, which<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/21\/twitter-suspends-babylon-bee-over-rachel-levine-man-of-the-year-title\/\"> linked to a satirical story<\/a> titled, \u201cThe Babylon Bee\u2019s Man of the Year is Rachel Levine,\u201d was a response to USA Today naming Dr. Levine as one of its \u201cwomen of the year.\u201d Twitter labeled the Bee\u2019s post \u201chateful conduct\u201d and is keeping its account locked until it admits wrongdoing and deletes the tweet.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-29-at-4_20_53-PM-1.png\"><\/a><figcaption>Facebook threatened the Babylon Bee after they posted a satirical article regarding CNN. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">BabylonBee.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Big Tech is also suppressing legitimate debates and information. Google, Facebook and Twitter suppressed information about the potential COVID-19 lab leak. Many of these policies were reversed only after Democrats, including President Joe Biden, began taking the theory seriously.<\/p>\n<p>Big Tech <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/04\/the-ridiculous-media-rush-to-clear-joe-biden-in-hunter-scandal\/\">abused its power again <\/a>when it censored the credible <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/10\/14\/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad\/\">Hunter Biden laptop story<\/a> by the New York Post and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/07\/big-media-and-big-tech-got-away-with-censoring-the-new-york-post\/\">locked The Post<\/a> out of its account. It does all of this by hiding behind vague rules, automated email responses and arbitrary review periods. It isn\u2019t a fair fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Big Tech must be held accountable. First, we propose narrowing Section 230 liability protections for Big Tech companies by removing ambiguity in the law \u2014 which they exploit to suppress and penalize constitutionally protected speech. Our proposal ensures Big Tech is no longer protected if it censors individuals or media outlets or removes factually correct content simply because it doesn\u2019t fit its woke narrative.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201014_BRXP-3_001-copy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"961\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201014_BRXP-3_001-copy.jpg\" alt=\"New York Post front page\" class=\"wp-image-23262247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201014_BRXP-3_001-copy.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1441 1441w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201014_BRXP-3_001-copy.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=961 961w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201014_BRXP-3_001-copy.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=480 480w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201014_BRXP-3_001-copy.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The Post published content discovered from Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"915\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg\" alt=\"NYP front cover with Hunter and Joe Biden\" class=\"wp-image-23262251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1830 1830w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1373 1372w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=915 915w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=458 457w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/nypost_20201015_BRXP-3_001.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Both Facebook and Twitter blocked The Post\u2019s findings. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Second, we propose requiring quarterly filings to the Federal Trade Commission to keep Big Tech transparent about content moderation. This will allow Congress, the FTC and Americans to know when and why these companies censor content to determine whether it\u2019s justified. We\u2019d also sunset Section 230 protections after five years, so Congress can reevaluate them if necessary and incentivize Big Tech to treat all content fairly or have their protections revoked.<\/p>\n<p>Third, our proposal requires Big Tech to improve appeals processes for users to challenge moderation decisions and enables people to petition their state\u2019s attorney general to bring legal action against Big Tech, enhancing users\u2019 power to challenge censorship. Twitter would be required to notify a user, like the Babylon Bee, through direct communication before taking any censorship action. Big Tech would also be required to give users the option to challenge any censorship decisions with a real person \u2014 not a bot \u2014 to disincentivize Big Tech from completely automating its censorship process.<\/p>\n<p>Big Tech platforms are the modern town square. It\u2019s urgent we preserve free speech in these digital spaces. The Biden administration wants to censor Americans. It has admitted to flagging \u201cproblematic\u201d content for Big Tech companies to censor and sought to establish a Disinformation Governance Board to monitor and censor Americans online. The government\u2019s forcing, coercing or suggesting private companies censor people\u2019s free speech is unconstitutional and an alarming affront to the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Free speech must be cherished and preserved. It\u2019s time Big Tech companies uphold American values and become fair stewards of the speech they host.<\/p>\n<p><em>Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) is the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Seth Dillon is CEO of The Babylon Bee. This column was co-authored with members of the House Republican Big Tech Task Force, which Rodgers leads.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the crime of posting content that doesn\u2019t fit the woke liberal agenda, Big Tech flags, suppresses and outright bans users from its platforms. Consider how these companies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1581294,"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-1581070","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\/1581070","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1581070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1581070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1581294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1581070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1581070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1581070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}