RONNA MCDANIEL: Joe Biden Is Colluding With Big Tech To Suppress Free Speech

On July 15^th, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki casually revealed that the Biden administration regularly pressures Facebook to censor certain users on its platform. Thanks to a mainstream media eager to cover for Biden and his deputies, this shocking admission was treated like just another news item. Nothing could be further from the truth. Americans need to pay attention: Democrats are now saying the quiet part out loud. Joe Biden’s administration is actively engaged in the suppression of free speech, and they are directing big tech to do their partisan bidding at the expense of the American people.

This isn’t the first time that Facebook has acted as an extension of the liberal establishment. In 2020, Facebook banned posts for the thought-crime of asking questions about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s role in the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, it’s a fair question to ask – China is an international bad actor with a record of covering up human rights abuses, silencing non-state-sanctioned media, and opposing the United States. It’s commonsense to raise concerns about a pandemic starting on their soil, especially in the same province – Wuhan – which hosts a lab known for experimenting with coronavirus strains. However, because President Trump and Republicans were the first to sound the alarm about the lab-leak theory, Democrats and Facebook refused to engage on its validity. Facebook, egged on by the left, didn’t care, and shut down the debate.

A couple of months later, Facebook did a 180, generously allowing common folk to discuss the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s deeply concerning that they silenced the discussion in the first place. This is why Psaki’s comments are such a red flag. The Biden administration has a vested partisan interest in shaping our national discourse. They should not be ordering Big Tech to discipline the citizens who Biden took an oath to serve.

This notion – that the companies maintaining our public square are subject to government guidance on censorship – was so odious that it prompted a rare instance of Big Tech pushback. After Biden incredulously doubled down by accusing Facebook of “killing people” by not censoring Americans more aggressively, Facebook responded with a withering statement. “We will not be distracted by accusations which aren’t supported by the facts,” Facebook wrote, clearly angering Biden staffers accustomed to total subservience from Silicon Valley oligarchs. White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield promptly fired back, demanding that social media companies be “held accountable” for allowing “misinformation” to spread on their platforms. Americans need to pay attention: the White House now wants to decide what qualifies as “real” information. Allowing partisan actors to assume that power would be a devastating, irreversible mistake. Republicans won’t let it happen.

There is no question that Big Tech companies have gotten too powerful. They have a sordid history of censoring conservative voices and have been fined billions for violating consumer privacy rights. However, that doesn’t mean that we can cede control over America’s information ecosystem to this power-drunk White House. Joe Biden’s administration has entered worrisome new territory in their efforts to punish Americans who dare to disagree with their line of thinking. They are saying the quiet part out loud, and Americans should be deeply concerned.

Ronna McDaniel is the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. 

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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