Senator Michael Bennet has criticized tech behemoths such as Meta, X, Google, and TikTok, accusing them of having lax policies that seemingly sanction the spread of untruths.
The turbulent situation between Israel and Hamas was recently seized upon by Democratic Senator Michael Bennet as another pretext to launch an offensive against the digital landscape.
Bennet targeted X, Meta, TikTok, and Alphabet in a letter dated October 17, imploring them to “extinguish the proliferation of inaccurate and misleading content” related to the Middle East conflict.
We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.
On the surface, the Senator’s request appears aligned with social responsibility while mitigating harm. However, the true objective surfaced, revealing Bennet’s obsession with enhancing the influence of censorship-prone entities that preside over content veracity.
Bennet’s stance is in alignment with European Union officials who are exerting pressure on these tech giants to aggressively deal with misinformation, via a letter addressed to the executives.
While Bennet has acknowledged a degree of content censorship by some platforms following European officials’ interventions, he has emphasized the insufficiency of existing policies to tackle the “mountain of false content.” His call for accountability extends to requesting an exact count of misleading content pieces removed in relation to the conflict, and the number of content moderators they have employed by October 31.
The European Union has little in the way of free speech protection for citizens and EU bureaucrats are always sending letters to tech platforms calling for censorship.
Alarmingly through, despite numerous successful lawsuits against government officials, including one targeting the Biden administration itself, Senator Bennet appeared to have negligible consideration for the First Amendment as he exerted pressure on these tech giants to expunge certain content.
He articulated his concerns by stating, “In accordance with numerous reports, fraudulent content has proliferated on social media platforms since the inception of the conflict, amassing views in the millions.”
Senator Bennet appears to advocate increased control by tech giants over content – a stark contrast to fostering informed critical thought among users.
The Senator lamented the tech companies’ reluctance to engage in censorship, leading to “an avalanche of violence, suspicion, and mistrust across the globe.” Going further, Bennet warned of an impending informational crisis where disputes over fundamental facts are intensified, and unreliable sources misleadingly labeled as the ultimate authority.
In fact, Bennet commended the European Union’s hawkish pursuit of Big Tech to maximize its responsibilities in quashing free speech. “In just the last week, your companies have received enforcement letters from the European Union, demanding details on measures you have taken to purge illicit content and misinformation,” Bennet pointed out. Conceding that some platforms have begun to take moderate measures, he stressed that the present policies and protocols are grossly insufficient in light of the abundance of deceptive content.
Senator Bennet is one of those that has previously called for censorship in the past, including enforcing “behavioral codes.”
The Digital Platform Commission Act of 2023, introduced by US Senators Michael Bennet and Peter Welch, proposes creating a Federal Digital Platform Commission to regulate AI and digital content on social platforms. Inspired by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s testimony, the bill aims to control how personal information is used by algorithm-driven platforms like ChatGPT. The commission would enforce “behavioral codes,” oversee systemically important digital platforms, and include a Code Council with “disinformation” experts.
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