During a Podcast by The Daily Signal, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers from WA called for unity between free speech advocates. During the interview, she said that the GOP should be ready on “day one” with conservative reforms to protect free speech and stop censorship online.
In a sign of hope for a change in the congressional leadership, Rodgers, top Republican on House Energy and Commerce Committee Rodgers stated that she was working with Jim Jordan (R. Ohio) to draft legislation to remove Section 230 legal immunity from Big Tech. During a Daily Signal podcast on March 30, she stated that smaller startups, such as Parler and GETTR should be protected. “We want them to be able to compete and grow,” Rodgers said of smaller tech companies. “And, in fact, TRUTH [Social]Today, they are using Section 230 immunity protections in order to expand their platform. So we’re trying to thread the needle.”
Rodgers showed that Section 230 reform must be handled carefully by legislators.
“There was a time when President [Donald]Trump demanded that Section 230 be repealed completely and he was actually able to veto it [National Defense Authorization Act]We must repeal Section 230, he stated. Most have concluded since then that that actually would’ve only further entrenched the big guys and that the very 230 immunity protections that would’ve been vetoed are what are being used right now by Truth, his media company, in order to grow and to be competitive.”
Big Tech censorship can interfere with the American political process, Rodgers said, citing how the revelations from the New York Post about then presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s reported dealings in foreign lands were censored prior to the 2020 election: “It was blocked,” she said. “New York Post was blocked days leading up to the election. And now it is playing out even today where we are learning more about these emails and that they are, in fact, legitimate.”
Rodgers indicated Democrats’ support for Big Tech reform may end up being more of a Trojan horse for increased censorship. She warned that “Democrats’ proposals are really focused on more government, more government regulation, and advocating that we need to address misinformation and disinformation.” In other words, rather than demanding Big Tech to reform in favor of free speech, Democrats are demanding it reform to restrict speech further. She added further that “there’s a big debate between government regulating and controlling in the name of misinformation, disinformation, versus those of us who believe in the battle of ideas, free speech, and that the answer to information that is false is actually more information.”
Conservatives are being attacked. Contact your local representative and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
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