OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:45 PM PT – Thursday, October 15, 2020
On Thursday, President Trump slammed Big Tech companies for their alleged censorship. During his latest rally in North Carolina, the President threatened to possibly strip tech giants of their Section 230 protections.
The legislation effectively shields platforms like Twitter and Facebook from being held liable for posted content. It also protects them from being held accountable for censoring or not censoring certain content.
It’s meant to protect free speech while allowing tech giants to mitigate hate speech or violence. However, President Trump and other officials have argued it’s actually enabled platforms to block or remove political speech without retribution.
“If Big Tech persists, in coordination with the mainstream media, we must immediately strip them of their Section 230 protections,” stated the President.
He went on to say when the government granted these protections, they created “a monster.”
If Big Tech persists, in coordination with the mainstream media, we must immediately strip them of their Section 230 protections. When government granted these protections, they created a monster!pic.twitter.com/velyvYTOR0
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also criticized Twitter and Facebook for blocking a story on Joe and Hunter Biden’s corrupt dealings. The social media giants blocked the New York Post’s story earlier this week, citing concerns it may contain “hacked material.”
On Thursday, the senator stated the social media giants’ decision to block or allow content as they please is “reprehensible.” McConnell added he supports the calls by some senators to subpoena Twitter executive Jack Dorsey.
“Whether one approves of the information or not, if you selectively suppress information, that’s censorship,” he said. “In this country, we’ve always advocated competition of ideas.”
According to Republican senators, this latest controversy shows a deepening pro-Democrat bias among the top leadership of Twitter and Facebook.
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