{"id":992138,"date":"2021-11-10T00:13:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T05:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=992138"},"modified":"2021-11-10T00:13:42","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T05:13:42","slug":"exclusive-rep-darrell-issa-speaks-out-after-big-tech-ban-we-have-to-protect-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-rep-darrell-issa-speaks-out-after-big-tech-ban-we-have-to-protect-free-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive \u2014 Rep. Darrell Issa Speaks Out After Big Tech Ban: \u2018We Have to Protect Free Speech\u2019"},"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\">34<\/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%2Fexclusive-rep-darrell-issa-speaks-out-after-big-tech-ban-we-have-to-protect-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=992138&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><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/22728-former-rep-darrell-issa-getty-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">Rep. Darrell Issa told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that he is the latest conservative voice silenced by big tech for spreading \u201cmedical misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.6136363636364\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Google and YouTube have censored me!<\/p>\n<p>Big Tech will stop at nothing to silence conservatives. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pmBepcg0NW\">pic.twitter.com\/pmBepcg0NW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/repdarrellissa\/status\/1458191173491695622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 9, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>On Tuesday, Youtube removed a 20-minute speech Issa made addressing government employees and tech executives about open access to data. During his speech, he briefly highlighted the controversy surrounding the efficacy of Russia\u2019s Sputnik vaccine for the coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was amazing is it wasn\u2019t what I said. It was who said it,\u201d Issa said when asked what exactly in the speech got him censored.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Issa compared both Russia\u2019s and America\u2019s vaccination efforts to the Cold War\u2019s space race in his speech:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote readability=\"20\">\n<p>But as I was talking about technology and our role and so on, I brought up the example of how Sputnik, in the case of the vaccine, arrived first, but not as good as America. Where we came into the space race and had to catch up, but we not only caught up, but we produce superior products. So in that analogy, which was very much a side note to the speech. I disparaged the Sputnik vaccine. Now that\u2019s the only time I talked about health because this speech was not about vaccines or health or anything else. And they took it down and cited, specifically cited, these, you know, the health and vaccine, so I know why it was taken down.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Issa noted that his point about the Russian vaccine program being inferior was reported by many mainstream outlets who criticized the Sputnik vaccine because it is not acceptable for international travel.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"12.367781155015\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In my now-censored speech, I pointed out that Russia\u2019s vaccine program was inferior to Operation Warp Speed. And the Russians repeatedly exaggerated their vaccine\u2019s effectiveness every time another country launched a better one. <\/p>\n<p>Is any free speech on vaccines allowed?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/repdarrellissa\/status\/1458194784091213825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 9, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On Sunday, ABC News&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Health\/wireStory\/foreign-citizens-seek-us-approved-shots-travel-resumes-81019797\"><span class=\"s2\">reported<\/span><\/a>&nbsp;the problems with international travel because the Sputnik vaccine is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"11\">\n<p>Sputnik itself said it was 60% effective until we came out with Pfizer in the 90s. And then they raised their effectiveness without any study, or third party. And so this is not controversial that Sputnik is an inferior product, and less well regarded even today, and yet they took it down over that statement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cOddly enough, I was in no way to disparage any other vaccines other than this relative one. So it wasn\u2019t the subject of the speech. It was a side note, but it happened to be accurate, but it was a conservative talking about vaccine even tangentially and so they use [it] as an excuse [to] take out an entire 20 minute speech about open access to technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Issa criticized Youtube\u2019s medical misinformation policy because \u201cThey are using it to censor Republicans, conservatives, and their algorithm has no validity.\u201d He also called out the hypocrisy of big tech for silencing his views even though the mainstream articles he got his information from remain online.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhether it\u2019s Fauci or hundreds of other scientists or all of these major news organizations, none of them that I just noted was particularly right wing. They don\u2019t get taken down for saying the same thing that, by the way, happens to be true,\u201d Issa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be true, to be protected by free speech. And so, you know, we we have to protect free speech, which we\u2019re not doing until we stop the censoring of speech that we disagree with, that might be untrue,\u201d Issa added.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Issa gave two real-world examples of what would happen if big tech became the arbiter of truth:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"13\">\n<p>But I always give this example because I think it\u2019s the easiest one. If Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy get up and talk about a bill, one of them could be taken down because it says the opposite of the other. Okay. By definition, if you\u2019re simply able to say we\u2019re going to determine which one is the truth and take down the other one, then there is not any longer going to be free. speech as we know it. That means that when a prosecutor and a defense attorney, each talk about the defense attorneys client, one of them will have all their words taken off of YouTube and Google because obviously they\u2019re going to decide which ones telling the truth. We can\u2019t have this kind of censorship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Issa emphasized that his comments did not call into question either the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccines, yet Youtube still took it down under the guise of \u201cmedical misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd in this case, I happen to be speaking in a way in which I was not disparaging American vaccines. I was not inaccurate, and yet I was taken down. And in some ways, it\u2019s the best example of taking someone down because of who they are not because of what they said.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe need to eliminate 230 as we know it,\u201d Issa said when asked what needs to be done to protect the first amendment. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/issues\/cda230\"><span>230<\/span><\/a>\u201d refers to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants internet platforms like Youtube broad immunity concerning third-party content. Section 230 was enacted in 1996 during the early years of internet browsing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m perfectly happy to have section 230 protect someone who leaves something up that I might find reprehensible that I might find false that I might find, in some way disparaging and I\u2019m and I\u2019m okay. With that. But I\u2019m not okay with taking down something because a liberal writing an algorithm in San Jose decides that&nbsp;if your name is Darryl Issa or Jim Jordan, you need to disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Issa\u2019s feelings are not partisan, as he said, \u201cif it was Barney Frank or Nancy Pelosi, I would feel just as strongly that, you know, they\u2019re wrong, but they have a right to be wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked if Congress intended for section 230 to allow platforms to censor U.S. politicians, Issa said, \u201cthey never intended to go as far as it\u2019s gone. And for the most part, what they wanted it to do was to protect someone\u2019s ability to say something that I might find reprehensible, that I might find objectionable, because ultimately, that\u2019s the freedom that we want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Issa gave another example of how big tech\u2019s censorship could lead to an infringement on the first amendment right to exercise religion freely:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"11\">\n<p>I happen to be an Orthodox Christian, so I\u2019m sort of an old faith. But you know, each of us believes in whatever religion you belong to beliefs by definition, that there is one truth and it\u2019s the one that we practice. Can you can you imagine when they decide that there\u2019s only one truth? And it\u2019s probably atheism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Issa mentioned that he is not the only Republican legislator that\u2019s been censored by big tech, with some even having their floor speeches get removed. \u201cWhen one of our outspoken members you know, Congresswoman Taylor or something, gets taken down It\u2019s like, \u2018Well, this was this is a little edgy.\u2019 And I believe that we need to stop that, she has every right to be edgy, he has every right to say what she believes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Issa noted that Google owns Youtube and the same censorship on the video streaming platform happens on the search engine. \u201cAnd if you Google search \u2018Sputnik vaccine\u2019 you\u2019re gonna find practically not a, zero article.\u201d \u201cBut everything you read is going to say that this is not as good a vaccine if you can get an American vaccine get it is what all the articles say,\u201d Issa said.<\/p>\n<p>Issa concluded by saying, \u201cthat\u2019s where we are, we\u2019ve reached a point where even if they agree with you, they will take you down if they disagree with your politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"8.1272727272727\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Google and YouTube didn\u2019t even pretend to fact check what I said. They just want to shut down free speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/repdarrellissa\/status\/1458192626075652105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 9, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Darrell Issa told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that he is the latest conservative voice silenced by big tech for spreading \u201cmedical misinformation.\u201d Google and &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"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-992138","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\/992138","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\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=992138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992138\/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=992138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=992138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=992138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}