Sen. Cruz: Latest Twitter Bias Underscores Need for Big Tech Transparency
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the latest example of Big Tech's political bias, Twitter last week continued its pattern of arbitrarily silencing conservative voices when it froze U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign account. From blocking PragerU videos and trailers for the pro-life movie "Unplanned" to blocking political candidates' ads, this move demonstrates once again the enormous control these companies have over our public discourse. It's no wonder a majority of Americans believe tech companies have "too much power and influence" and "intentionally censor political viewpoints they find objectionable."
That's why U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is working to hold Big Tech accountable to the American people.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary's Subcommittee on The Constitution and a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cruz has chaired and participated in multiple hearings with representatives from Big Tech, including Facebook, Twitter and Google where he addressed concerns over social media bias and censorship. Most recently, Sen. Cruz chaired a hearing entitled: "Google and Censorship through Search Engines," where one witness explained that the bias with which Google curates and disseminates information could have shifted at least 2.6 million votes to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
"Every time we search on Google, we see only the web pages that Google decides we should see, in the order that Google decides we should see them," Sen. Cruz said at the hearing. "This is a staggering amount of power to ban speech, to manipulate search results, to destroy rivals, and to shape culture. More and more Americans are demanding accountability from Big Tech for that massive power."
Here's what news outlets are saying:
Washington Post: Facebook, Google and Twitter under fire from Senate Republicans for censoring conservatives online
"Republicans led by Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday pilloried Facebook, Google and Twitter over allegations they censor conservative users and news sites online, threatening federal regulation in response to claims that Democrats long have described as a hoax. The tensions played out early at a Senate hearing where Cruz, the leader of the Judiciary Committee's constitution-focused panel, pointed to reports that he said showed a ‘consistent pattern of political bias and censorship on the part of big tech.'"
Daily Signal: Dennis Prager: Google's Suppression of Content Threatens the Future of America
"This statement is as much about what I and PragerU stand for as it is about Google. Those interested in viewing the presentation can do so here. It is an honor to be invited to speak in the United States Senate. But I wish I were not so honored. Because the subject of this hearing-Google and YouTube's (and for that matter, Twitter and Facebook's) suppression of internet content on ideological grounds-threatens the future of America more than any external enemy. In fact, never in American history has there been as strong a threat to freedom of speech as there is today."
The Hill: Juan Williams: We need a backlash against Big Tech
"Another conservative, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), points to the danger Big Tech poses to the 2020 election - ‘The power being amassed by a handful of tech media companies...is a level of power unprecedented in our political discourse," Cruz said at a Washington Post event in June. He is proposing stripping tech platforms of their free speech protections by citing violations of the Communications Decency Act."
Breitbart: Ted Cruz Grills Google on Its Political Bias
"Sen. Cruz said that Google and other social media companies received enhanced legal immunity through Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act with the understanding that they would act as neutral platforms. Cruz explained: A lot of Americans have concerns that big tech media companies and Google in particular, are engaged in political censorship and bias. As you know, Google enjoys a special from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The predicate for that immunity was that Google and other big tech media companies would be neutral public fora."
CLICK HERE to watch Sen. Cruz on "Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream."
CLICK HERE to watch Sen. Cruz' Q&A with Tony Romm, Senior Technology Reporter at the Washington Post, at the 3rd annual "Free to State Summit."
CLICK HERE to watch Sen. Cruz on "Fox & Friends."
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