Senator Schmitt Sends Letter to Meta, Google Seeking Answers Regarding Suppression of Free Speech Ahead of 2024 Elections

WASHINGTON – Recently, Senator Eric Schmitt sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai regarding the increasing attacks facilitated by these companies’ platforms about Americans’ freedom of speech and other First Amendment rights:

“I am writing to express my concern about the increasing attacks on free speech facilitated by your social media platforms. In the past, social media companies have been employed to suppress American citizens’ speech, particularly conservative speech. This is alarming because the freedom to speak your mind in the public square–or in the virtual public square–is vital to the health of our republic,” begins the letter.

“The government must not commandeer a private entity to suppress the speech of American citizens or journalists in the modern-day public square – this is unconstitutional. As nearly half of Americans get their news from social media, these platforms must remain open to free speech and diverse ideas. Unelected officials or corporate policies should not control the marketplace of ideas. I defended against the abuse of these rights throughout my time as Attorney General of Missouri and I will continue to stick up for them as a United States Senator.

In the lawsuit I filed as the Attorney General of Missouri, Missouri v. Biden, I highlighted how government officials, including President Biden and White House officials, coerced and colluded with social media companies to censor speech under the guise of combatting, ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation,’” continues the letter. 

“The Founding Fathers enshrined the First Amendment after witnessing the costly effects of speech suppression. This is why, for over 230 years, debate and criticism have been bedrock principles in America. As an elected official of Missouri, I will fight for Missourians’ and Americans’ individual freedoms against the threats to free speech from both the Biden Administration and your companies,” concludes the letter.

BACKGROUND:

• Specifically, the letter requests answers to the following questions:

1.      What are your current policies and practices regarding content moderation, specifically in relation to political speech?

2.      What is your response to the claims that your platforms were used to suppress free speech during the 2020 election?

3.      Can you provide specific examples of how your company has handled cases of alleged censorship?

4.      How do you respond to allegations that your platforms colluded with government officials to censor certain types of speech?

5.      What measures are in place to prevent undue influence from government entities on your content moderation policies?

6.      What steps are you taking to increase transparency around your content moderation decisions?

7.      How do you plan to safeguard free speech on your platforms as we approach the 2024 election?

8.      What changes, if any, are you considering addressing the concerns raised about the suppression of free speech?

9.      Why did your company suppress information related to the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump?

• In October 2020, media companies like Twitter and Facebook suppressed legitimate news stories like the Hunter Biden laptop story and locked the New York Post out of its social media account for breaking it. The Biden campaign colluded with these tech organizations to conduct a coordinated campaign, thereby suppressing the free speech of millions of Americans.
• In addition, Google has been found to also have suppressed and censored information regarding the assassination attempt against former President Trump. A spokesperson for Google at the time stated that the company did not take any actions on its search engine that omitted the reference “Trump assassination attempt.” 
• In his previous role as Missouri’s Attorney General, Senator Schmitt filed suit against the Biden Administration for violating the First Amendment by colluding with Big Tech companies to suppress opposing viewpoints. The lawsuit—Missouri v. Biden—exposed a vast “censorship enterprise,” showing the lengths that the Biden Administration and these private entities went to silence free speech on their platforms. 
• Additionally, Senator Schmitt was proud to introduce the Curtailing Online Limitations that Lead Unconstitutionally to Democracy’s Erosion (COLLUDE) Act.Big Tech has absolutely no business acting as censors on behalf of the federal government, striking down speech and other posts they deem unworthy. The COLLUDE Act would put Section 230 protections on the line for large tech companies that would brazenly engage in such unconstitutional behaviors.
• Unfortunately, this kind of Orwellian crackdown is all too common across the European continent. Draconian “hate speech” laws are being used to squash dissent in increasingly aggressive and extreme ways that would make actual authoritarians blush in comparison. Any sort of free expression of ideas or heterodox thinking that does not comply with any society’s guidelines on what is considered correct speech is essentially banned under these harsh mandates. The censorship and crackdown that have played out across the European continent are a reminder of why Americans should be grateful for the First Amendment and our other rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. This is why, for over 230 years, debate and criticism have been bedrock principles in America. As an elected official of Missouri, Senator Schmitt will fight for Missourians’ and Americans’ individual freedoms against the threats to free speech from both the Biden Administration and these tech monopolies. 

Read the full letter here.