Shareholders pressure Big Tech firm to reveal requests from Biden administration to censor "problematic" content
By ramontomeydw // 2022-01-13
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Shareholders for two Big Tech platforms are calling on Google and YouTube to disclose any requests from the Biden administration to censor "politically problematic" content. The calls follow the two platforms' removal of videos questioning the administration's Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) policies. The shareholders outlined their calls by means of a proposal, a copy of which the Washington Free Beacon obtained. Ethics watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) submitted the proposal to Alphabet, Google and YouTube's parent company. NLPC holds a voting stake in Alphabet, according to the Free Beacon. NPLC Chairman Peter Flaherty said: "The case for this kind of disclosure is double-barreled. All citizens should be aware when the government engages in censorship – even if it is through a private-sector company – and shareholders of that company should know when they become a party to it." "The [Biden] administration keeps labeling certain information about the pandemic [as] 'disinformation' and gets it yanked off social media, only to later embrace the same information. Alphabet should not be contributing to such a farce." (Related: YouTube to remove all DISLIKES from public view in bid to protect White House and mainstream media.) If Alphabet shareholders vote to approve the proposal, the Big Tech firm would be required to "provide a report … that specifies the company's policy in responding to requests to remove or take down material platforms" sent by any entity of the U.S. government – including the office of President Joe Biden and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aside from this, Alphabet would also have to make public an itemized listing of such requests. The listing must include the name and title of any federal official lodging a takedown requests – alongside the request's date, nature and scope. It must also clearly indicate the request's outcome and a reason or rationale as to why Alphabet did or did not act on it. However, getting company shareholders to vote on the proposal faces a significant hurdle as Alphabet's founder and insiders largely control voting shares. The company is also likely to seek a waiver from the Securities and Exchange Commission to avoid tackling the NLPC's proposal.

Big Tech, Big Government colluding to censor "misinformation"

The disclosure clause in NLPC's proposal could shed light on whether the Biden administration has instructed tech firms to remove purportedly "misleading" information. This has inadvertently raised concerns about a possible collusion between Big Tech and Big Government with the aim of censorship. According to the NLPC, Alphabet and the Biden administration working together could amount to "unconstitutional censorship" and open Google and YouTube's parent firm to liability claims by affected parties. The watchdog cited Supreme Court rulings that said "private entities may not engage in suppression of speech at the behest of government, as it has the same effect as direct government censorship." The NLPC's proposal came amid controversies affecting the two Big Tech platforms. YouTube recently deleted a video featuring Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of mRNA vaccine technology, with podcast host Joe Rogan. Malone criticized the COVID-19 vaccine during his interview with "The Joe Rogan Experience" host. In addition, Google has also acknowledged censoring its autofill feature to dissuade users from searching about SARS-CoV-2's lab origin. The search engine manipulated its platform to prevent searches about the theory – which was later deemed credible by intelligence officials. Several Republican politicians such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson slammed the two platforms' censorship of videos questioning COVID-19 measures such as mask mandates and vaccine passports. Back in July 2021, the White House inadvertently confirmed its collusion with Big Tech during a press briefing. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that the Biden administration was "in regular touch with" social media platforms on the issue of COVID-19 "misinformation" online. (Related: Democrats in government pushing to control speech and enforce narratives about COVID and Biden through punitive measures.) She elaborated: "We are in regular touch with these social media platforms, and those engagements typically happen through members of our senior staff, but also members of our COVID-19 team." Psaki added that the administration was also "flagging problematic posts for Facebook," urging Big Tech platforms to "take faster action" against these. Watch the video below of Jeffery Jaxen and Del Bigtree talking about YouTube's ban on vaccine misinformation. This video is from the Scriptural Scrutiny channel on Brighteon.com. Censorship.news has more about tech giants censoring content on behalf of the Biden administration. Sources include:

FreeBeacon.com

NYPost.com

Brighteon.com

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