U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today urged Senate Judiciary Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein to investigate the actions taken by social media corporations limiting or removing content of political candidates while either not following industry standards, failing to follow their own rules, or outright changing their rules to justify previous actions taken against candidates. Daines’ request follows recent reports of Twitter and Facebook limiting access to a news story dealing with former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and the suspension of a Trump Campaign account.
“Recent events have brought forward a troubling pattern where social media companies have failed to follow industry standards, failed to follow their own rules, or have changed their rules to justify previous actions. This pattern has overwhelmingly led to the removal of content or users favoring one candidate over another,” Daines wrote. “This raises serious questions of illegal coordination or election interference. With so much information pertinent to the upcoming election flowing through these companies, it is of paramount importance that online companies are held to the same laws and accountability as the rest of the nation.”
To read Daines’ letter to Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein, click HERE.
In recent weeks, political candidates and news sources have seen content and stories removed from social media websites based on loose and shifting guidelines leading to allegations of interference and coordination between major social media companies and political parties.