I hope you saw my latest weekly column.

 

ROGER WICKER: Big Tech has crossed a red line
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This month, powerful tech companies took unprecedented steps to censor free
speech. In the days after the deadly Capitol Hill riot, Facebook suspended
President Trump’s account, saying it posed a “risk of further violence.”
Twitter went a step further and permanently banned the President’s account,
along with 70,000 others they described as a security risk. Snapchat also
closed the President’s account while platforms like Reddit and Twitch began
limiting Trump-related content. In addition, Parler, a platform popular among
conservatives, was forced offline after Apple, Google, and Amazon removed the
platform from their app stores and withdrew support services.

 

This tidal wave of censorship crosses a serious threshold. Conservatives have
long complained about censorship on social media, but these companies have
never gone this far. Their actions drew sharp criticism from our European
allies, the President of Mexico, and even the liberal ACLU, who recognize this
could lead to further suppression of speech. I am concerned these acts of
censorship will set a dangerous trend that could threaten free speech and
divide our nation further.

 

The internet is the public square

 

In the internet’s early days, most online discussions were confined to
chatrooms and blogs. These forums made up a very small part of the “public
square,” which had been dominated by local newspapers, television, and our
personal interactions. If censorship ever occurred online, it did not affect
most of our lives.

 

More than 20 years later, the situation has changed dramatically. The internet
is now a major center for public discourse, and the public square now includes
the vast terrain of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms. Because so
much of our discourse now takes place online, platforms have an obligation to
promote and protect our tradition of free speech. Tech companies are
increasingly failing at this, and their recent actions against the President
and thousands of users represent a new low.

 

Tech monopolies must be challenged

 

These acts of censorship would not be so consequential if tech giants had real
competition. Unfortunately, they do not. An elite handful of giant tech
companies now dominates the marketplace beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.
Their footprint in our society is so massive and their resources so vast that
they can snuff out any small competitor, like Parler, that threatens their hold
on the market. This monopolistic behavior, coupled with the worsening
restrictions on free speech, calls for congressional action.

 

Last year, I convened the heads of three major tech companies – Facebook,
Twitter, and Google – for a hearing that addressed online bias and censorship.
Senators had the opportunity to grill these CEOs and discuss potential changes
to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online
platforms from being sued over content posted by users. I have drafted
legislation that would modify Section 230 to give platforms strong incentives
to protect free speech. I will introduce this legislation soon as the lead
Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee.

 

Congress should go further and take a serious look at anti-trust issues
surrounding these tech firms. I am encouraged that the House and Senate
Judiciary Committees have already begun doing this. Tech companies who take
collective action against competitors, like Parler, need to know that they are
playing with fire and positioning themselves for trust-busting. We must fight
to promote competition in the technology sector so that our nation can benefit
from the best ideas new innovators have to offer.

 

You can click here to share my Op-Ed with your friends on Facebook!
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Thank you for your support,

Senator Roger Wicker

 

 

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