{"id":2261119,"date":"2024-06-06T08:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T12:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-hearing-spotlights-social-media-companies-censorship\/"},"modified":"2024-06-06T08:10:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T12:10:47","slug":"georgia-hearing-spotlights-social-media-companies-censorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-hearing-spotlights-social-media-companies-censorship\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia hearing highlights censorship by social media platforms"},"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\">16<\/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%2Fgeorgia-hearing-spotlights-social-media-companies-censorship%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=2261119&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--><p>A Georgia lawmaker organized a\u2064 &#8220;First Amendment, Free Speech Rally&#8221; at the \u200bState Capitol to address social media censorship. Rep. Mesha Mainor highlighted the silencing of dissenting \u2062voices by\u200b platforms. Witnesses emphasized the impact of de-platforming on livelihoods. They raised \u2064concerns about\u200d tech companies controlling public discourse and reshaping narratives to suit their agendas,\u2063 challenging the principles of free speech.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2014 A Georgia state lawmaker who says she was silenced when she switched parties last year convened a hearing to showcase how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-poll-watcher-it-expert-non-trump-supporter-affidavit-sudden-surge-of-20000-mail-in-votes-for-biden-in-early-hours-on-nov\/\" title=\"GA Poll Watcher, IT Expert, Non-Trump Supporter Affidavit: Sudden Surge of 20,000 Mail-In-Votes For Biden In Early Hours On Nov\">social media companies<\/a> can de-platform people to manipulate messaging.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mesha Mainor, R-Atlanta, said she called the \u201cFirst Amendment, Free Speech Rally\u201d at the Georgia State Capitol to showcase what she sees as a lack of respect for dissenting opinions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing that has happened in America is we have lots of different opinions,\u201d Mainor, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/georgia\/article_8fca2d1e-202c-11ee-8ef0-bf2f8803a7ac.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>left<\/strong><\/a> the Democratic Party last year, said at the start of the hearing. \u201cBut just because someone\u2019s opinion is not of your own, does not mean that we should disrespect other people\u2019s opinion. It also doesn\u2019t mean that we shouldn\u2019t be open to listening to other people\u2019s opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The parade of witnesses affected by deplatforming highlighted how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-schmitt-probes-federal-censors-efforts-to-trample-americans-speech\/\" title=\"Exclusive: Schmitt Investigates Attempts by Government Censors to Suppress Free Speech\">social media companies\u2019 decisions<\/a>, often cloaked in secrecy, impact their livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sets a dangerous precedent to where tech companies have the power to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/facebooks-oversight-board-will-remove-posts-flagged-by-users\/\" title=\"Facebook\u2019s Oversight Board Will Remove Posts Flagged By Users\">silence dissenting voices<\/a>, reshaping the narrative to fit their agendas,\u201d Nick Miles, a business owner and the former director of events for the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WalkAway_campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>WalkAway Campaign<\/strong><\/a>, said. \u201cThis control over public discourse is a direct assault on the principles of free speech and open debate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must ask ourselves, \u2018Who gets to decide which voices are heard and which are silenced?&#8217;\u201d Miles added. \u201cWhen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/businessman-kevin-oleary-defends-free-speech-online\/\" title=\"Businessman Kevin O\u2019Leary defends free speech online\">social media platforms<\/a>, designed to be spaces of free expression and exchange of ideas, become the arbiters of truth, we tread a dangerous path. The ability to question, challenge, and dissent is not just the right; it is the lifeblood of our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The group <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/georgia-state-congressional-hearing-investigate-154500940.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>said<\/strong><\/a> its Facebook page was <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BrandonStraka\/status\/1347592064322719744\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>removed<\/strong><\/a> after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Taibbi, an investigative journalist who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/florida\/article_c491c048-7703-11ed-a713-0fa049295079.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>published<\/strong><\/a> the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mtaibbi\/status\/1598822959866683394\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Twitter Files<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d said government or congressional agencies might take an interest in a site and send a letter to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> saying they want the company to review content and, at its discretion, determine whether it violates the terms of service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the platforms communicate with each other; they communicate with the government, as well,\u201d Taibbi said during the hearing. \u201cThis is the sort of unseen process that leads to \u2026 a lot of these accounts being taken down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it violates the First Amendment,\u201d Taibbi added. \u201cIs this kind of communication legal? Is it constitutional? I think it isn\u2019t. But WalkAway, I think, is one of the primary examples of the government seeing something that isn\u2019t there or inventing something that isn\u2019t there and suppressing speech of legitimate citizens as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Georgia lawmaker organized a hearing at the State Capitol to spotlight how social media platforms de-platform individuals to control narratives. Rep. Mesha Mainor highlighted concerns about free speech and censorship, citing her own experience of being silenced after a party switch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2261120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23361620812590-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2261119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP23361620812590-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261119","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=2261119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2261119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2261120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2261119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2261119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2261119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}