Twelve State Attorneys General Write Letter to Big Tech Asking Them to Suppress Americans with the 'Wrong' Viewpoint
A dozen Democratic attorneys general from across the country sent a letter addressed to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week asking them to silence Americans who are critical of the coronavirus vaccine on social media.
A plurality of conservatives and moderates are now calling for less regulation of free speech and for an end to the suppression of voices that challenge “woke” orthodoxies and science which Democrats would like to consider settled. On the other hand, powerful Democrats are ordering more assaults on the First Amendment rights of Americans online.
A letter with a header from the office of Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, which is dated March 24, sees 12 attorneys general ask to have those whose viewpoints which are considered wrong, or “misleading” be silenced by leftist Big Tech.
“As Attorneys General committed to protecting the safety and well-being of the residents of our states, we write to express our concern about the use of your platforms to spread fraudulent information about coronavirus vaccines and to seek your cooperation in curtailing the dissemination of such information,” the letter opened.
“The people and groups spreading falsehoods and misleading Americans about the safety of coronavirus vaccines are threatening the health of our communities, slowing progress in getting our residents protected from the virus, and undermining economic recovery in our states.”
The AGs then argued that with vaccines now widely available, the end of the coronavirus pandemic is in sight.
“This end, however, depends on the widespread acceptance of these vaccines as safe and effective. Unfortunately, misinformation disseminated via your platforms has increased vaccine hesitancy, which will slow economic recovery and, more importantly, ultimately cause even more unnecessary deaths,” the letter stated.
The attorneys general made no mention that vaccine hesitancy likely stems from the fact that for a great many people, there is no benefit to receiving a vaccine.
People who are inoculated are not told to resume their lives, and are instead told to continue wearing masks and to stay away from other people. Despite the root cause of hesitancy for so many identified, the letter asked for those who are against taking the vaccine to be silenced.
“A small group of individuals use your platforms to downplay the dangers of COVID-19 and spread misinformation about the safety of vaccines. These individuals lack medical expertise and are often motivated by financial interests,” the letter stated. “According to a recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, so-called ‘anti-vaxxer’ accounts on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter reach more than 59 million followers.”
Naturally, the Democrats brought race into the argument, inferring that arguing against vaccinations is akin to homicidal racism.
“‘Anti-vaxxers’ are using social media platforms to target people of color and Black Americans specifically, members of communities who have suffered the worst health impacts of the virus and whose vaccination rates are lagging,” the AGs claimed, without evidence.
The letter concluded that Facebook and Twitter should take steps to ensure that content shared which contradicts acceptable information on vaccines through third-party applications be banned.
“Facebook has allowed anti-vaxxers to skirt its policy of removing misinformation that health experts have debunked, by failing to prevent them from using video and streaming tools like Facebook Live and sites like Bitchute, Rumble, and Brighteon to evade detection,” the letter stated.
“We call on you to take immediate steps to fully enforce your companies’ guidelines against vaccine misinformation. By effectively rooting out fraudulent information about coronavirus vaccines, you can prevent needless illness and death and hasten our road to recovery,” the letter concluded.
The letter was signed by Tong; Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings; Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller; Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy; Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel; Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison; New York Attorney General Letitia James; North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein; Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum; Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro; Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha; and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.
After a year that saw the basic liberties of millions of Americans challenged by government, Big Tech then intervened and began mass banning people for sharing perspectives which Big Tech leftists and Democrats found inconvenient.
The top law enforcement officials for 12 states don’t believe that the suppression of voices has gone far enough. They want to ban the ability for those with questions or alternative views about public health to even engage in conversation.
No matter how one feels about vaccines, this is troublesome. With the mediums for public discourse essentially all online, the above-named attorneys general wish to outlaw even discussing something with which they disagree. What will these people want to ban next?
More importantly, why are they so concerned with what their respective states’ citizens are permitted to say online about something consequential which directly affects each and every one of them?
If Big Tech capitulates and further comes down on those who would at the very least like to have an open conversation about vaccines, it’s surely only the beginning.
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