Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf called on Twitter to cease obstruction of Americans' inalienable right to free speech and communication with government officials.
In an open letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Wolf said the company's censorship poses a threat to national security and cited the company's most recent censorship against U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan.
"I write to you about Twitter’s recent censorship of Mark Morgan, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)," the letter reads. "Not only was Twitter’s act of censorship unjustified—the tweet is supported by data—it is disturbing. As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other Federal agencies continue to rely on Twitter to share important information with the U.S. public, your censorship poses a threat to our security."
The same day Jack Dorsey testified before the Senate to answer allegations of censorship and election interference, Twitter locked the account of CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan after the commissioner tweeted about the effectiveness of the new border wall system.
(1/2) While @jack was ‘explaining’ Twitter #censorship to the Senate, Twitter was blocking @CBPMarkMorgan! Why? B/c he posted THE TRUTH, that @CBP’s Wall helps stop gang members, murderers, sex predators & drugs from getting into America. The other pics prove @CBPMarkMorgan right pic.twitter.com/5ndjKP1LEK
— Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) October 29, 2020
According to Wolf's letter, the CBP commissioner appealed Twitter's decision but the social media giant denied Morgan's appeal.
"Only after CBP reached out to Twitter’s office of government affairs a second time and went public with this censorship, then finally Twitter admitted its bad judgment and unlocked the account," the letter reads. "I call on you to commit to never again censoring content on your platform and obstructing Americans’ unalienable right to communicate with each other and with their government and its officials, including the thousands of law enforcement officers at the DHS who work vigilantly and diligently to protect your safety every day."
The full letter can be read here.
