A coalition of conservatives and others concerned about social media censorship by the Masters of the Universe at Google, Facebook, and Twitter, said at a National Press Club event on Tuesday that the silencing of conservatives online is a threat to our democratic republic.
“It’s absolutely a threat,” Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture at the Media Research Center, said at the event.
Several conservatives who have been targeted by social media ranging from shadow-banning to outright blacklisting from Silicon Valley platforms spoke out at the event.
“It is real,” former presidential candidate Herman Cain said at the event, which was hosted by the Coalition for Standardized Digital Media and IT.
.@dangainor: "Can free speech and free press survive when one company controls more than 92 percent of the search market for all of mankind?"
— Jeremy Goldman (@jeremarketer) May 14, 2019
Cain said censorship by Big Tech caused a drop in his followers and also blocked access to his online presence. Like many other speakers at the event, Cain said he does not favor government regulations to solve the problem, instead advocating for voluntary standards and an informed free market to rein in the bad behavior of big tech companies.
Laura Loomer, an outspoken investigative journalist, said that she had been banned from a wide range of online platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, payment processor PayPal, and even Uber.
Loomer called Internet censorship a “civil rights” issue and claimed she had lost 90 percent of her income as a result of being targeted.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court Apple v. Pepper case was touted at the event. Gabe Joseph, senior vice president of Liftable Media and organizer of the coalition, said the Supreme Court’s ruling that individuals have the standing to sue Apple over its app store means litigation would serve as a major tool in fighting back against censorship and monopolies.
Todd Cefaratti, who founded the now-defunct Tea Party Network and authored the book Tech Tyrants, said social media platforms targeted his network. He also said that individuals like Loomer, who has sued Twitter, will have the most impact on efforts to end censorship.
The third panel at the event billed as “Big Tech Voter Impact 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Cycle,” featured speakers, including Gainor, who said they believed censorship influenced the results of the 2018 midterm elections, specifically in California and Alabama where evidence of social media censorship has been tracked.
They warned it would no doubt influence the 2020 presidential election if action to stop censorship isn’t taken.
There was also unanimous agreement at the event on the “hate speech” movement and how it can threaten Americans First Amendment rights.
“There is no such thing as hate speech,” panelist Seton Motley said at the event. “There is only speech.”
Some experts have advocated for anti-trust laws to be used to break up big tech companies like Google and Facebook, but those at Tuesday’s event cited the “be careful what you wish for” parable and said a number of smaller companies with the same leftwing leadership could be an even bigger threat to freedom of speech.
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.