On Thursday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) questioned why the Department of Justice was not being more proactive as social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter, were being more aggressive against Trump and his allies.
Gaetz, one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies in the House of Representatives, pointed to restrictions placed on the President for sharing information on the coronavirus pandemic during an interview with Mobile, AL radio’s FM Talk 106.5.
Facebook had deemed a Trump post “harmful misinformation.”
“I think the biggest story right now in America is the fact that our social media companies are literally banning the President of the United States for sharing information that even some public health officials agree with regarding transmission rates for young people and the likelihood they’ll pass along this virus. I mean, what kind of world do we live in where the tech overlords in Silicon Valley can silence and stifle communication of the leader of the free world?”
Gaetz questioned the lack of action by the Department of Justice, arguing that the measures taken by the tech giants amounted to election interference.
“Why is the Department of Justice not in a federal court today seeking an injunction against these companies to stop them from this election interference?” Gaetz added. “We have an election coming up, and I think you’re just going to see them ratchet down harder and harder and harder on not just the President, but his allies as well. I mean, if they can disappear the President of the United States’ speech, think what they can do to the rest of us who are just offering a thought or a perspective or a piece of information we want to share with our fellow Americans? What Twitter and Facebook are doing today is truly a greater threat to our democracy than any Russian troll farm under a ghost indictment oceans away.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor