House Republicans accuse big tech of ‘capricious censorship’
Republican staffers released a report saying Congress should take action
House Republicans released a report on Tuesday condemning what they call ‘capricious censorship’ practices at some of the company’s largest technology companies.
Republican staff members from the House Judiciary Committee authored the report, which concluded that companies like Twitter, Google, YouTube and Facebook should be held accountable for “a consistent level of bias.”
“Congress must take more direct and powerful measures to address censorship in Big Tech,” the report read. “Whether it occurs at Twitter, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, or elsewhere in Silicon Valley, lopsided censorship threatens civic discourse and undermines American values and freedoms. It must be addressed.”
DEMOCRAT-LED HOUSE PANEL TO SEEK BREAKUP OF BIG TECH, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS
The report mentioned possibly modifying Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which protects companies like YouTube and Twitter from most content posted on their sites by third-party users even though the companies themselves generally oversee that content.
President Trump signed an executive order regarding Section 230 earlier this year – limiting protections for social media companies.
Republican lawmakers have also criticized Democrats for allegedly rejecting “opportunities” to look into concerns about bias, censorship and cancel culture.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The report was released in a reponse to a publication by House Democrats at the close of a 16-month investigation into the practices of Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google, which concluded that lawmakers should take action to mitigate what they view as monopolistic and anti-competitive practices.
A spokesperson from Google said the company disagreed with both reports, which it says feature "outdated and inaccurate allegations" from commercial rivals.
Amazon penned a blog post saying it welcomed scrutiny, but that the presumption that success "can only be the result of anti-competitive behavior" is wrong.
Representatives from Apple, Twitter, and Facebook did not immediately return FOX Business’ requests for comment.
Executives from the country’s largest tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook, testified before lawmakers during an antitrust hearing on Capitol Hill earlier this year, where they received multiple questions about alleged censorship and competition on their respective platforms.
Some of the companies are under investigation at both the federal and state levels regarding their business practices.