Conservative Leaders Call on Feds to Cease Collusion with Social Media Platforms

July 22nd, 2021 12:28 PM

Over 40 conservative leaders have signed on to an open letter led by Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell in calling on the federal government to cease its collusion with Big Tech. 

The open letter was first published as a Fox News exclusive by Fox News Media Reporter Brian Flood:

“The Biden administration is ripping the U.S. Constitution to shreds. Its assault on America’s freedom of speech is terrifying. It is the hallmark of dictatorships. 

“As a result of the incendiary and dangerous announcements made by the Biden White House last week to censor free speech with the cooperation of social media, we, the undersigned, demand  Big Tech firms immediately and publicly announce that they will not comply with calls from the federal government to censor dissenting viewpoints. Not on COVID-19 and not on any other topic. Furthermore we call on those companies to resist further demands for such outrageous censorship of dissenting voices. 

“The Biden administration is guilty of violating the most basic fundamental principles of a free and open society. President Joe Biden shockingly claimed Facebook is ‘killing people’ because it doesn’t completely censor its site in ways the administration approves. Though he later backed off this claim a bit, multiple members of the administration are moving to quash free speech on social media following that autocratic rationale. 

“White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that the administration is ‘flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.’ And on Thursday, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared that ‘health misinformation is a serious threat to public health.’ Psaki added to that with the fact that the Surgeon General’s Office is ‘flagging posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.’ 

“Those who comply and do not speak out are guilty of being complicit in a creepy and repugnant form of Orwellian “thoughtcrime.” We are fast approaching the nightmarish reality of 1984 or worse. 

“Therefore, we further demand the White House, the federal government and private entities be fully transparent about all government actions to restrict speech. 

“It is also the responsibility of Congress to limit the federal government’s attempt to work with, bully or intimidate private entities to control free speech the state deems dangerous. Indeed, our First Amendment was written to protect all speech, not just what the Biden administration deems safe and socially acceptable.   

“If the federal government does not immediately cease and desist from its actions to coerce private companies to quash free speech in the United States, no other conclusion can be drawn, except that the federal government is openly opposed to citizens exercising their First Amendment rights. We will do everything legally in our power to resist that egregious overreach.” 

 

L. Brent Bozell

Founder and President

Media Research Center

 

Gov. Scott Walker

President

Young America's Foundation

 

Morton Blackwell

President

Leadership Institute

 

David N. Bossie

President

Citizens United

 

Sandy Rios

Director of Governmental Affairs

AFA

 

Kelly Shackelford, Esq.

President, CEO & Chief Counsel

First Liberty Institute

 

C. Preston Noell III

President

Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.

 

Joseph Chalfant

President

Lone Conservative

 

Terry Schilling

President

American Principles Project  

 

Craig Shirley

Reagan Biographer and Presidential Historian

 

Kevin D. Freeman

Founder

NSIC Institute

 

Mark Fitzgibbons

President of Corporate Affairs

American Target Advertising

 

The Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell

Chairman

Constitutional Congress, Inc.

 

Eunie Smith

President Emeritus

Eagle Forum

 

Rod D. Martin

Founder & CEO

The Martin Organization, Inc.

 

Christina Murphy Lusk

President

The Martin Foundation

 

Ted Baehr, Th.D., HHD, J.D.

Movieguide(r)

Producer’s Guild of America (PGA) Member

 

Jim Lakely

Vice President & Director of Communications

The Heartland Institute

 

Steven Ertelt, Editor

LifeNews.com

 

Floyd Brown

Founder 

Western Journal

 

John Hinderaker

President

American Experiment

 

Christie-Lee McNally

President 

Raven Strategies

 

Anne Schlafly Cori

Chairman

Eagle Forum

 

Jon Schweppe

Director of Policy and Government Affairs

American Principles Project

 

George K Rasley Jr.

Managing Editor

ConservativeHQ.com

 

David Kupelian

Vice President and Managing Editor

WND

 

Paul J. Gessing

President

Rio Grande Foundation

 

Tony Perkins

President

Family Research Council

 

Brian S. Brown

President

International Organization for the Family

 

Lori Roman

President

American Constitutional Rights Union

 

Lady Brigitte Gabriel

Founder & Chairman

ACT For America

 

Becky Gerritson

Executive Director

Eagle Forum of Alabama

 

Hon. Kenneth ""Ken"" Cuccinelli, II

Former Attorney General of Virginia

Former Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

 

Gary Bauer

President

American Values

 

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis

President

60 Plus Association

 

Will Chamberlain

Publisher

Human Events

 

Randy M. Long

Founder

Long Business Advisors, LLC
 

James L. Martin

Founder/Chairman

60 Plus Association

 

Ryan Bomberger

Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer

The Radiance Foundation

 

Elaine Donnelly

Founder and President

Center for Military Readiness

 

James Allen

SpeechMovement.Org

 

Joseph Farah

Editor in Chief

WND

 

Jenny Beth Martin

Honorary Chairman

Tea Party Patriots Action

 

Gene Mills

President

Louisiana Family Forum Office