U.S. lawmakers: tech giants censorship is the biggest problem facing the Republican Party

Republican U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Friday (Feb. 26) that Big Tech’s censorship of people “may be the biggest problem we face as a party in America right now. Nunes suggested that the American people contact their respective lawmakers to put pressure on big tech companies.

Nunes told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida on Friday that sites like Facebook and Twitter are kicking out the people they target, leaving them without a “communication structure” and making it difficult to communicate.

Nunes also said that although it is still accessible, it has been targeted by big tech companies. He also mentioned video-sharing platform Rumble and Parler, a competitor to the big social media platforms.

Nunes said he foresees a future where conservatives will be kicked out of services like iTunes.

“That could be coming. So we’re facing a long struggle. People are asking, ‘What can we do?’ You have to tell your congressmen and senators that this has to end so that you can put pressure on these tech oligarchs, because that’s what they are. And then also to (do the work) at the state legislative level, state legislators are going to have to pass new laws, as (Florida) Governor Ron DeSantis talked about today (Feb. 26), that if you’re going to censor somebody, you’re going to be fined in Florida. So hopefully (the law) will pass.” He added.

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled legislation Feb. 2 that would make technology giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google face penalties if they, among others, violate Floridians’ privacy and interfere with citizens’ access to candidates during elections.

DeSantis said that over the years “these platforms have shifted from neutral platforms that allow Americans to speak freely to law enforcement agents that prefer a particular narrative. As a result, these platforms have played an increasingly decisive role in elections and have had a negative impact on Americans who do not share the Big Tech groupthink.”

The legislation effectively sidesteps the controversial protections afforded to these tech giants under Section 230 of the Communications Regulatory Act of 1996.

In the bill announcement, DeSantis told reporters that social media companies are unfairly applying censorship standards in a discriminatory manner.

“Can you imagine tolerating this kind of behavior in the banking industry, in the health care industry or in any other industry?” He asked.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump (R) repeatedly urged Congress to end Section 230 during his administration, saying social media such as Twitter discriminated heavily against conservatives.

Section 230 grants immunity to social media companies from being sued for content that appears on their platforms, or for removing portions of it.

In response to Twitter’s blocking of conservatives’ accounts, Trump said such actions are an attempt to suppress the truth and that “this cannot be allowed to happen. This is something only communist countries do”!