Conservatives have long complained that social media companies are using censorship in order to influence the outcome of elections.
Over the weekend, incumbent Senate candidate Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) said she has felt the effects of social media censorship first-hand. What’s more, she believes that it’s past time for action.
At an event for the Republican Senate candidates on Sunday, Breitbart contributor Ashley Oliver told Loeffler, “There is some concern that Facebook is censoring some of the adds related to this election and other information related to the election.”
Oliver then asked, “What is your response to Facebook, and Mark Zuckerberg, and Silicon Valley in general as far as censorship goes, and are you concerned that they are potentially meddling in the Georgia election?”
“That’s all on the ballot”
“They are trying to influence an election,” the senator responded. “We’re not going to stand for that. That’s why January 5 is so important,” she stressed, noting the day that Georgians are scheduled to vote.
“The Democrats will never pursue this censorship,” Loeffler said. “They will never protect our free speech, our religious freedoms, our 2nd Amendment rights.”
The senator continued, “That’s all on the ballot. That’s why we have to stand up to big tech. I have introduced legislation to do that, and we’re going to keep fighting to make sure that every voice is heard and that they stop censoring conservatives.”
Loeffler made her remarks while standing with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who challenged Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey during a hearing in the fall.
Cruz: “You don’t get to pretend”
During the hearing, Cruz particularly took issue with Twitter’s policy of labeling tweets that reference voter fraud allegations with a disclaimer that says “voter fraud of any kind is exceedingly rare in the United States,” Fox News reported.
“You’re entitled to take a policy position,” Cruz said, “but you don’t get to pretend you’re not a publisher and get a special benefit under Section 230 as a result.”
Section 230 is a provision of the Communications Decency Act that shields social media companies from liability for material posted by users, but only if they operate as public platforms rather than publishers.
Cruz also pointed out that Twitter had prevented a New York Post article about Hunter Biden’s laptop from circulating on its platform on the grounds that it contained “hacked material” (despite no evidence of hacking), yet did nothing to censor reports about President Donald Trump’s illegally obtained tax returns.
The post Sen. Kelly Loeffler: Big Tech is trying to influence an election first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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