Internet Censorship: President Trump Fights Back

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It goes without saying that without freedom of speech there can be no democracy. It also goes without my saying so that the globalists and their toadys in Silicon Valley have gone out of their way to censor opposing voices... first it was Alex Jones- who I personally find detestable, but he still deserves to be heard- and now Twitter has banned actor James Woods. If left unchecked, this is only the beginning- Twitter typically shadow-bans sites with whom they disagree. YouTube demonitizes dissenting videos. Facebook has developed algorithms to detect "fake news" so that they might keep us all "safe." Google has altered their search guidelines shifting people away from conservative material. Finally, President Trump has had enough and is fighting back.

The President has drafted an executive order launching an investigation into Big Tech alleging bias against conservatives. In a 2016 study done on the effects of conservative sites on the election, the Columbia Journalism Review came up with this graphic...

An almost even split. However, according to the same study done again in 2017, the results are profoundly different.

Most of the larger conservative sites have been negatively affected, if not done away with altogether.

This is all part of a concerted effort by progressives to control the political narrative by silencing conservative voices. Their belief is that by silencing dissent, people will get their information from the MSM- who enjoys an even lower favorable rating than Congress, somewhere around 9%. What they fail to recognize is that President Trump was elected because people are tired of being lied to and they are angry... this failed tactic will only make them angrier.

According to an article in Gateway Pundit: "Facebook wiped out traffic to several top conservative websites: Gateway Pundit, Infowars, Truthfeed, Ending the Fed, The Political Insider, Young Cons, Allen West, Sarah Palin, 100% Fed Up, Western Journalism, redstate Watcher, Pamela Geller, IJR, and others were almost completely wiped out. Breitbart and Daily Caller also took a significant hit. (The very influential Drudge Report was not listed in the study.)" Gateway Pundit also obtained a copy of the President's draft...

EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PROTECT COMPETITION AND SMALL BUSINESSES FROM BIAS IN ONLINE PLATFORMS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to protect American consumers and workers and encourage competition in the U.S. economy, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Online platforms are central to American commerce and the free flow of news and information. Whether reading news or looking for local businesses, citizens rely on search, social media, and other online platforms to provide objective and reliable information to shape a host of decisions ranging from consumer purchases to votes in elections. Because of their critical role in American society, it is essential that American citizens are protected from anticompetitive acts by dominant online platforms. Vibrant competition in the online ecosystem is essential to ensuring accountability for the platforms that hold so much sway over our economy and democratic process.

[Can expand this section, if necessary, to provide more detail on role of platforms and the importance of competition]
Section 2. Agency Responsibilities. (a) Executive departments and agencies with authorities that could be used to enhance competition among online platforms (agencies) shall, where consistent with other laws, use those authorities to promote competition and ensure that no online platform exercises market power in a way that harms consumers, including through the exercise of bias.

(b) Agencies with authority to investigate anticompetitive conduct shall thoroughly investigate whether any online platform has acted in violation of the antitrust laws, as defined in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 12, or any other law intended to protect competition.

(c) Should an agency learn of possible or actual anticompetitive conduct by a platform that the agency lacks the authority to investigate and/or prosecute, the matter should be referred to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission.

(d) Not later than 30 days from the date of this order, agencies shall submit to the Director of the National Economic Council an initial list of (1) actions each agency can potentially take to protect competition among online platforms and address online platform bias; (2) any relevant authorities and tools potentially available to enhance competition among and protect the users of online platforms.

(e) Not later than 60 days from the date of this order, agencies shall report to the President, through the Director of the National Economic Council, recommendations on agency-specific actions in response to paragraphs (d) of this section. Such recommendations shall include a list of priority actions, including rulemakings, as well as timelines for completing those actions.

Section 3. General Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(b) Independent agencies are strongly encouraged to comply with the requirements of this order.

(c) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Western Journal reports that the President has instructed agencies to make absolutely certain that these platforms do not violate any antitrust laws. This will likely be the biggest thorn in the side of Big Tech. Google, for one, enjoys a virtual monopoly on internet searches. Although there are other search engines available, Google has the lion's share of the business.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is meeting this week with representatives of attorneys general of 24 states to see if there is any action that can be taken against the tech giants. "Texas will be among the states meeting with Sessions. It is sending a representative to address concerns about 'conservative voices … being suppressed on several social media platforms' said Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to Reuters."

President Trump is quoted as saying: “I think Google has really taken advantage of a lot of people. And I think that’s a very serious thing and that’s a very serious charge,” Trump said.

“I think what Google and what others are doing, if you look at what is going on at Twitter, if you look at what is going on in Facebook, they better be careful because you can’t do that to people. You can’t do it,” he added.

What will come of this remains to be seen, but it does look like a step in the right direction. Free speech is for everyone, or it is for no one. If Big Tech isn't stopped now, we'll wind up with the same draconian social credit apparatus that they have in China... China is just the test balloon. Companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter are already working with the Chinese government to help accelerate data gathering and surveillance. Given that they were funded by the Deep State, can we reasonably expect any different in the US?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/09/huge-white-house-drafts-executive-order-calls-for-federal-probes-into-google-facebook-for-bias-and-censorship/
https://www.westernjournal.com/white-house-taking-fight-directly-big-tech-reportedly-readies-executive-order/?