The Big Tech-government censorship industrial complex is all too real, but one anti-free speech lawmaker “Went Too Far, Even For Pro-Censorship Media” and Twitter. 
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has been an avid proponent of censorship but independent journalist Matt Taibbi revealed in his “Twitter Files Mini-Extra” that some Twitter employees were not fans of her anti-free speech policies.
Taibbi noted that in 2021 the media critiqued Klobuchar’s legislation working to suppress supposed medical misinformation online, much to the appreciation of Twitter employees. Apparently, some Twitter staff thought Klobuchar had gone too far in trying to crush free speech.
Taibbi provided a screenshot of several Twitter employees in July 2021 discussing Klobuchar’s Health Misinformation Act which sought to “hold online platforms accountable for the spread of health-related misinformation.”
The screenshot showed Twitter employees reacting to a Politico article noting that critics were “piling on” Klobuchar’s bill and calling it “MISINFO MADNESS.” The Twitter employee commented, “I really appreciate the ways in which this is being covered.”
Another Twitter employee responded to call the coverage “Refreshing!” while a third employee seemingly called the media bashing a win: “That’s a W on the board!” Klobuchar’s censorship craze was apparently even too harsh for pre-Musk Twitter.
This, however, was not the first time Twitter had dealt with complicating Senate legislation. Taibbi referred to Twitter’s response to the 2017 Honest Ads Act which aimed at preventing foreign agents from funding political ads. Twitter changed its ads policy in anticipation of the legislation. Taibbi explained “Twitter executives caved on a Senate Intel request on ads, only to find a threatened Klobuchar-authored regulation package on the way anyway.” Twitter came to the realization that Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Klobuchar “weren’t bad-cop/good-cop, but bad-cop/bad-cop,” according to Taibbi.
Klobuchar has a history of publicly advocating for more censorship. For instance, a YouTube executive bragged that the platform had removed over a million videos in 2021 in response to Senate hearing pressure from Klobuchar. In 2022, Klobuchar again introduced legislation that she said would address “misinformation.” In January, Klobuchar went on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to urge lawsuits against tech companies that don’t censor enough by her standards.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand government agencies and Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
