Censorship Coordination Deepens
The White House says it is ‘flagging’ Facebook posts on Covid.The Biden Administration sure isn’t taking Donald Trump’s Big Tech lawsuits seriously. A week after the former President’s lawyers argued in court filings that his removal by social-media firms amounted to “state action,” the Administration broadcast that it is coordinating with the firms to remove content.
“We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook , ” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday, referring to coronavirus misinformation. Meanwhile, the Surgeon General, an officer in the department of Health and Human Services, released a report with a page of suggestions on “what technology platforms can do” to crack down on certain information. The Verge reported that officials at Twitter “met with the surgeon general’s office on Monday to discuss its misinformation policies.”
It’s been clear for some time that the tech giants look to government to determine what coronavirus-related speech to allow. YouTube’s misinformation policy bans content that contradicts the evolving guidance of “health authorities.” Facebook stopped blocking some commentary on the lab-leak theory of the virus’s origins only after President Biden ordered an investigation into the possibility.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/censorship-coordination-deepens-11626474643?mod=MorningEditorialReport&mod=djemMER_h
