Marsha Blackburn on Facebook Censorship: We Shouldn't 'Mirror Authoritarian Regimes' Like Cuba

On Friday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking what authority his administration has to collaborate with Big Tech when it comes to censoring so-called misinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus and vaccine efforts.

In her letter, the senator cites statements from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who last week mentioned that the White House is "in regular touch with the social media platforms" and "flagging" what they deem "problematic posts."

Sen. Blackburn goes on to write that the "revelations are deeply concerning" and note that the "blatant actions by your administration to work with big tech companies to censor Americans’ free speech are shocking – and arguably a violation of the First Amendment."

There's an international context as well, the senator offers. In recent days, the Cuban people have been protesting the repressive Communist regime, though Twitter and the White House initially honed in on a narrative that the people took to the streets because they were protesting a lack of vaccines against the virus.

"Communist countries such as Cuba are currently taking away their citizens' right to use the internet to communicate; the U.S. government should be standing up to, not looking to mirror, authoritarian regimes such as these," Blackburn said in her letter.

President Biden last Thursday did call out the evils of Communism, when asked to do so by a reporter at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Earlier that same day, Psaki had also condemned Communism. However, these commonsense condemnations from the administration, of even just saying that "c" word, did not come until after the protests had gained worldwide attention, with the administration waffling in the meantime.

1. What criteria are you directing social media platforms to use to flag and remove posts?
2. What criteria are you directing social media platforms to use to ban users?
3. In your July 15th press briefing, you stated that 12 people are responsible for “65 percent of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms.” Who are those accounts and have they, or others, been removed at your direction?
4. What is the legal basis for your Administration’s decision to direct social media platforms to flag and remove posts from their sites?
5. Does the White House have staff dedicated to searching social media for content to flag for removal?

The letter requests that the president provide a briefing by August 2, 2021.