House Judiciary Committee to Hold Hearing on Social Media Censorship

The House Judiciary Committee announced Friday that it will hold a hearing on July 17 regarding Facebook, Google, and Twitter’s censorship practices.

The House Judiciary Committee will host a hearing on Tuesday, July 17, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. It is entitled “Facebook, Google, and Twitter: Examining the Content Filtering Practices of Social Media Giants.”

Ms. Monika Bickert, the head of Global Policy Management for Facebook; Juniper Downs, the global head of Public Policy and Government Relations for YouTube; and Nick Pickles, the senior strategist for Public Policy for Twitter will serve as witnesses for the hearing.

The Judiciary Committee previously hosted Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) as well as social media commentators Diamond and Silk in April to discuss Facebook, Google, and Twitter’s social media censorship practices.

During the hearing, Blackburn said that because of Facebook and Google’s censorship practices, free speech is “endangered even here in America.”

Rep. Blackburn, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee, had one of her campaign ads blocked on Twitter last October. In the campaign ad, Blackburn touted her pro-life beliefs and her opposition to selling baby parts. Breitbart News obtained exclusive emails that documented how the social media giant believed the ad was “inflammatory.”

Tech experts have said that various regulations, such as the “Safe Harbor” provision, have enabled Facebook, Google, and Twitter to censor without legal ramifications.

Fred Campbell, former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wireless bureau chief, told Breitbart News in April how social media giants such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter abuse Safe Harbor provision Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to censor at will without any legal repercussions.

Campbell told Breitbart News, “Here’s the real problem with Section 230: it empowers these Internet platforms to censor content while removing any accountability for their publications. The Constitution has always protected an individual’s right to defend themselves against libel or slander.”

“Section 230 overrides the common law and says that these Internet platforms can censor all they want and won’t be accountable for anything — for libel or any other falsehoods,” the former FCC executive added.

Campbell stated in an interview with Breitbart News Sunday that “conservativism itself is at stake” due to to Google and Facebook’s censorship practices.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wrote an op-ed for Breitbart News in June that stated conservatives will not be silent about online censorship.

McCarthy wrote, “If Big Tech wants to regain the trust of the American people, it needs to live up to the principles it was founded on: freedom of speech and expression.”

Follow Breitbart News on Tuesday, July 17, for live streaming and coverage of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing at 10:00 a.m Eastern.