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I hope you saw my latest weekly column.



ROGER WICKER: New Documents Show Twitter Censored Hunter Biden Story Without
Basis
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With new leadership in charge of Twitter, some of the social media giant’s
most blatant attacks on free speech are finally coming to light. On December 2,
the first batch in a series of internal documents was released with the
permission of Twitter’s new boss, Elon Musk. These explosive documents, known
as the “Twitter Files,” reveal a cozy relationship between top Twitter
executives and Democrat politicians. They also show that Twitter acted
dishonestly when it silenced the Hunter Biden laptop story in late 2020,
wrongly insisting that it was Russian misinformation. In fact, the evidence
revealed enormous sums of money going from corrupt foreign executives to Hunter
Biden in an apparent attempt to influence his father, who was serving as Vice
President. Suppressing this scandal so soon before the 2020 election almost
certainly affected the outcome of the race. This is exactly the corruption many
of us suspected. Conservatives who felt that Twitter was covering up the truth
simply to help Joe Biden are vindicated by these revelations.



These newly confirmed details raise serious concerns about the power of tech
companies to put their thumb on the scale of our democracy. In light of these
revelations, I am calling on Congress to renew its investigations of Twitter. A
few days ago, I sent a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria
Cantwell urging her to hold a hearing on protecting free speech online.
Congress needs to make sure this corruption is fully exposed and prevented in
the future.



Democrats Go Soft on Big Tech



When this scandal broke in 2020, I was serving as Chairman of the Commerce
Committee, which oversees the regulation of digital technologies. I immediately
called a hearing with the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook. My questioning of these
executives revealed that neither company had direct evidence that the Hunter
Biden story was Russian misinformation. In fact, theWashington Post has since
verified that the 22,000 emails that served as the basis of the story are fully
authentic.



I took heat for asking these questions of Big Tech executives. One senior
Democrat insinuated that even holding the hearing violated federal law and that
my Republican colleagues and I were somehow the problem. This indifference to
the corrosive power of Big Tech continued for the next two years. Every time
Republicans proposed ideas to rein in Big Tech companies, Democrat leaders
opposed us.



Even before the Hunter Biden story emerged, it was clear that Big Tech needed
to be reined in. In September 2020, I proposed legislation to roll back
protections for tech companies in Section 230 of the Communications Act of
1934. More recently, I introduced the PRO-SPEECH Act, which would bar tech
companies from discriminating against conservative users and require them to be
transparent in how they censor content. Unfortunately, Democrats have shown
little to no interest in taking serious steps to protect speech online.



Next Congress Could Make Progress



I regret that Congress has so far failed to advance these bills, which would
provide free speech protection to millions of Americans who use social media.
With Republicans soon taking over in the House, however, Big Tech is sure to
receive more scrutiny in Washington. I look forward to working alongside the
new House Republican majority to put pressure on Big Tech and hold its leaders
accountable to the American people.



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Thank you for your support,

Senator Roger Wicker






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