Put down your coffee and listen up folks, there’s a controversy brewing. It’s about Big Tech censorship and the death knell it could be sounding for our cherished free market. Rachel Bovard, Senior Director of Policy at the Conservative Partnership Institute has held everyone to task—Congress, thought leaders on the right and those clinging to old, irrelevant views.
Let’s cut to the chase; free speech in America is under siege. During a May 31st interview, Dan Schneider, Vice President of MRC Free Speech America, questioned Bovard about this issue. Bovard’s response to the recent Congressional hearing on Section 230—that essentially set aside free speech concerns—was clear-cut: it was a joke. A “disappointing”, “insulting” affair that gave short shrift to the egregious problem of Big Tech censorship.
The fact that the debate has gone on for years, with explicit proof of outright censorship from these tech giants right before our eyes is bad enough. But when Republic-led hearings cannot even address this issue? Bovard says that’s “insanity”. The nonchalance with which they are dealing with the potential murder of free speech is downright absurd, says Bovard.
Making matters worse, the House Energy and Commerce Committee invited three blatantly pro-censorship witnesses for the hearing. This garnered strong criticism from both Schneider and Bovard, who simultaneously had harsh words for the bill under discussion. A bill that shelves Section 230 by 2025 has been called no less than “political suicide” by Schneider and the Free Speech Alliance branded it “insufficient” to handle the Big Tech predicament.
This squandered chance, Bovard rues, could have initiated a change to protect free speech rights; to prevent Big Tech censorship’s disastrous influence on our democracy. She is harsh on the committee for its blinkered view, especially for inviting a witness affiliated with Google, an entity notorious for alleged censorship.
Schneider credits Bovard with helping him envision how to tackle this issue where hands-off approaches can turn the free market into anything but free. Get this—big companies can and do manipulate the market, making it anything but free. Schneider makes this point well, indicating that companies are increasingly favoring ideology over profit, denying access to the market itself.
Free speech and the free market are on the line, folks. Bovard insists there’s a need for government intervention to ensure a measure of fairness in the market. This brings us to the ugly problem of ‘debanking’—institutions like Bank of America, Citigroup, and JP Morgan shutting down accounts based on political preferences. If we can’t tap into capitalism’s levers, the market is no longer free.
Make no mistake, conservative voices are under threat. So I urge you, reach out to your representatives, demand accountability from Big Tech. Insist they uphold the tenets of the First Amendment—transparency and fair play. March on, conservatives, and let’s restore balance in the tech world’s playground.
