“If Americans want to protect free expression, we must demand consistency from leaders of both parties.” | Josh Edelson/Getty-AFP
By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune
In recent weeks, Americans have grown increasingly anxious over mounting threats to free expression. New revelations about government influence during COVID show this is not new.
Google and YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, disclosed on Sept. 23 that the Biden administration pressured the company to suppress content that went against the accepted narrative during the pandemic — even when it didn’t violate company policy.
The federal government interfered with how the nation’s dominant search engine and its most widely used online video platform moderated speech.
Alphabet admitted Biden officials leaned on the company to remove posts questioning pandemic policy — even when they didn’t break its rules. In a letter to the House Committee on the Judiciary, Alphabet’s attorneys wrote: “While the Company continued to develop and enforce its policies independently, Biden Administration officials continued to press the Company to remove non-violative user-generated content.”
This comes after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared much the same story last year.
In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee on Aug. 26, 2024, Zuckerberg said senior Biden administration officials “pressured” Meta during the pandemic to remove or demote some COVID-19 posts, including humor and satire, called that pressure “wrong,” and said Meta took actions it “shouldn’t have.”
COVID was chaotic, and officials were trying to keep people safe. But that doesn’t excuse overreach.
Read more here.