On Sunday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent out a letter to fellow House Republicans urging them to take action against Big Tech due to its “infringement of public speech rights.”
The letter highlights some of the practices that Big Tech companies such as Google and Amazon deploy to censor ideologies that do not “meet the criteria of corporate wokeism.”
McCarthy dubs one of these practices “the gatekeeper effect,” which takes advantage of the fact that 90% of users drop off of the Google search after the first-page results.
For instance, manipulating search results to lower the rank of certain pages would reduce the likelihood of information being seen and shared.
“The ability to stack the deck protects the willing participants of the scheme and punishes the non-compliant. The same gatekeeper effect lies with Amazon and Apple,” states McCarthy.
McCarthy claims that Big Tech is censoring conservative opinion by stacking the front page with companies and services that comply to corporate “wokeism,” that is, toeing the political correct line of the left.
“For the sake of preserving free speech and a free economy, it’s time Big Tech faces the music. House Republicans are ready to lead,” McCarthy wrote.
The House Minority Leader plans to take on Big Tech via three principles: accountability, transparency, and strengthening anti-trust review.
McCarthy will meet with Ranking Members Jim Jordan and Cathy Rogers to begin holding Big Tech accountable. This comes at a time where conservative icons on various social media platforms are having their livelihoods threatened due to procedures practiced by the companies.
Instances of unfair practices
YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook have been banning and demonetizing users with non-conforming, of conservative, beliefs for the last few years, for instance.
The most popular example of this bias is the banning of former President Donald Trump, who was kicked off several big platforms for allegedly inciting violence during the January 6 Capitol riot.
Recently, YouTube intellectual Bret Weinstein had his channels demonetized for unknown reasons. This comes as Weinstein discusses Ivermectin as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
In the past, YouTube has justified bans by stating the user is peddling “spam, deceptive practices, or scams.”
This vague policy can easily be misused, as emerging science can be labeled as deceptive practice and banned without the possibility of reversal.
