House Subcommittee Report Exposes Biden Administration’s Role in Big Tech’s Suppression of Free Speech
In a scathing report titled “The Censorship-Industrial Complex: How Top Biden White House Officials Coerced Big Tech to Censor Americans, True Information, and Critics of the Biden Administration,” the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government sheds light on the Biden administration’s control over Big Tech’s censorship efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the subcommittee outlines a months-long plan by the Biden administration to pressure tech giants like Meta (parent company of Facebook), Alphabet (parent company of YouTube), and Amazon to remove online content that challenged the official narrative.
The report argues that while the Biden White House’s pressure campaign largely succeeded, its effects were devastating. By suppressing free speech and distorting public debate, ideas and policies were no longer fairly tested and debated on their merits. The report refers to the “Twitter Files,” a collection of internal documents released after Elon Musk acquired Twitter (now called X), which exposed Twitter’s coordinated effort with government officials to silence political opponents of President Joe Biden.
However, the most significant documents for understanding the Biden administration’s censorship efforts are internal emails obtained from the targeted companies. These emails reveal that Big Tech employees admitted to changing content moderation policies, including targeting satire, due to pressure from the Biden administration. Facebook, for example, understood that the Biden White House wanted negative information and opinions about the vaccine removed, as well as humorous or satirical content suggesting the vaccine’s safety. The same rules applied to removing true information about vaccine side effects and the origin of COVID-19.
The report also highlights how the Biden administration targeted books on Amazon. Officials conducted a keyword search for “vaccine” to identify anti-vaccine books and contacted Amazon’s vice president of public policy with the results. Following this outreach, Amazon internally expedited the consideration of implementing a new policy that would discourage anti-vaccine books.
The report emphasizes the parallel timelines and similarities in content moderation policies adopted by Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon due to the Biden administration’s coercion. While there are differences in how each company succumbed to the pressure, by September 2021, all three had implemented new content moderation policies that removed or reduced viewpoints and content disfavored by the Biden White House.
The subcommittee argues that these actions violate the First Amendment and continues to investigate further infringements. The information gathered will be used to guide potential legislation. However, the Biden administration has not adequately complied with the subcommittee’s request for documents related to the investigation, according to the report.
The House subcommittee’s report raises serious concerns about the Biden administration’s control over Big Tech and its impact on free speech. It brings to light the coercive tactics employed by the White House to shape public discourse and stifle dissenting voices. As the investigation continues, the report suggests that potential legislation may be introduced to address these constitutional violations.
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House press office for comment, but no response was received at the time of publication. As the debate over Big Tech’s influence on public discourse intensifies, the findings of this report will undoubtedly contribute to the ongoing discussions surrounding free speech and the role of government in regulating online platforms.
