Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) issued a direct threat to social media companies to take away their immunity if the content is not moderated more to his liking. Of course, this is not-so-veiled code for de-platforming conservatives.
The representative on Sunday referred to Section 230 immunity, which is part of the United States Code that generally shields platforms and websites from liability over third-party content.
Adam Schiff thinks the problem with social media is there isn’t enough government interference. This is from the guy who thought Hunter’s laptop was Russian. pic.twitter.com/bw5syDp3dY
— Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) December 19, 2022
What is clear is that Schiff and his Democratic colleagues are unhappy that they no longer pick and choose what can be posted on Twitter. Every other explanation is simply window dressing to hide their hatred for new CEO Elon Musk and his allowing conservatives back onto the platform.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Schiff complained that there is a “big problem right now with social media companies and their failure to moderate the content.” Then he revealed his real target.
Twitter, he claimed, is reeling under an “explosion of hate.” He further lamented the temporary banning of journalists who doxxed Musk’s family and put them in real danger.
Schiff, however, did not see the threat to Musk as a serious concern. He likened journalists reporting on the real-time location of Musk’s family to “unfavorable news,” saying the reporters were banned “without warning.”
The California representative added that, while Congress cannot tell social media platforms what they can and cannot say, their immunity may be withdrawn.
Ironically, independent journalist Matt Taibbi’s examination of the explosive Twitter Files revealed that Schiff was directly linked to the suppression of dissent on the platform.
It was just Friday when Schiff accused Musk of promoting hate and bigotry in the virtual town square. The Democrat railed against Musk’s calling himself a “free speech absolutist,” saying he now “turned a blind eye” to offensive postings.
Needless to say, Musk responded.
In a since-deleted tweet, the CEO celebrated that the congressman will “lose your chairmanship very soon. Your brain is too small.”
Musk also struck back at Schiff’s claim earlier this month that postings with slurs have exploded on the platform since his acquisition. He noted that “false, hate speech impressions are down by one-third” since he took over Twitter.
The left’s meltdown over Twitter allowing conservatives back onto the platform shows no signs of abating. And while Schiff’s immunity threat is merely hot air, it is amusing to see how far liberals will go to stifle speech that does not fit their narrative.
