Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement after tech giants Twitter and Facebook censored a story published by the New York Post documenting alleged correspondence between Hunter Biden, son of Democrat Presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden, with representatives from the Ukrainian company Burisma. The emails referenced in the story, if authentic, contradict previous statements made by Biden about his engagement and awareness of his son’s foreign business endeavors.
This afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced they would, at the request of the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), propose rules to clarify the intent of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
“Time and time again we’ve seen big tech companies refuse to be transparent about their practices and too often unfairly censor right of center voices. This must stop. Twitter, Facebook, and others should take a long, hard look at the policies that determine what they suppress on their platforms. Why is the New York Post story problematic, but stories from other outlets containing leaked, hacked, or classified information okay? At what point do these platforms take on the responsibility of publishers, and should they be treated as such? Should Section 230 protections apply to platforms who act as publishers? We’re encouraged to see these questions being raised and look forward to working with key stakeholders, including the FCC, to clarify the intent of a law enacted nearly 25 years ago," said Walden, Latta, and Rodgers.
