Rand Paul Puts Joe Biden On Notice: “I’m going to introduce legislation that will forbid the government from colluding with private companies to censor speech”
GOP Senator Rand Paul put President Joe Biden on notice on Fox News saying he will introduce legislation in the next session to block the federal government from colluding with big Tech to cesnor Americans.
This ugly chapter in American history started under the Trump administration and has exploded under the Biden administration. Paul (R-KY) was reacting to a report from The Intercept that obtained leaked documents about federal agencies working with tech platforms to suppress online speech. (A tech writer disputes some of the report below.)
Paul said: “You know, for all the talk of democracy, it seems to me that they’re undermining the very basic principles of our constitutional republic.
“Freedom of speech was listed in the First Amendment because it was one of the most important rights that our founders thought should be protected.
“But having the government collude with big tech to censor speech is something that goes against every grain of everything that anyone has ever spoken about as far as freedom of speech.
“So, when we get back in session, I’m going to introduce legislation that will forbid the government from colluding with private companies to censor speech.
“Now, this is a tricky situation because many people believe that the First Amendment doesn’t allow us to regulate the speech of private companies.
“But without question, we can regulate the government.
“And we can prevent and forbid the government from colluding with private tech on speech.
“But I think we should also preclude them and prohibit them from gathering up our data,” he said.
For all the talk of democracy, it seems Democrats are undermining the very basic principles of our constitutional republic. https://t.co/0KxzcG5FEB
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 3, 2022
I went through every single claim in the document, and every underlying document. And NOT A SINGLE CLAIM about coercion and content suppression holds. NOT ONE. https://t.co/5uwPG6355R
— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) November 2, 2022
Leaked Documents Show Facebook And Twitter Worked Closely With The FBI And DHS To Police “Disinformation” @lhfang Joins Tucker Carlson Tonight To Discuss This Bombshell Report
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) November 1, 2022
Link To The Intercept Piece: https://t.co/PHMEGJVngE pic.twitter.com/mhUkmTDaDe