(Headline USA) A group of Republicans slammed President Joe Biden’s surgeon general this week after he demanded that Big Tech companies send him data on COVID-19 “misinformation” shared on their websites.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent a letter to several major tech platforms last week, claiming that COVID-19 “misinformation” is a public health threat that has led people to reject vaccines and other public health measures such as masks.
The surgeon general’s office has defined “misinformation” as information that is “false, inaccurate, or misleading, according to the best available evidence at the time.”
Murthy told the companies that they have until May 2 to provide “aggregate data” on how much of this “misinformation” exists on their platforms, as well as how many users saw it.
In response, congressional Republicans blasted Murthy for using his government position to “chill speech.”
“Does this guy have any business being the Big Brother? Who the heck does this guy think he is to make a database like this? It’s asinine and tyrannical,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told the Washington Examiner.
Biggs, the former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, argued Murthy’s request for data won’t stop there.
“I don’t trust Murthy,” he explained. “I don’t trust what he’s asking for, and aggregate data from the tech companies will eventually lead to granular data where individuals could be isolated and canceled by the Left, which is a huge abuse of power.”
Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter have already been using their COVID-19 “misinformation” policies to censor conservatives.
Users who promoted the use of ivermectin, for example, or who entertained the Wuhan lab leak theory, were deplatformed.
“The increasing pressure on private businesses to censor political speech from this administration is completely unconstitutional and should outrage every American,” Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said. “This is just the latest move by the Biden [administration] to silence their political enemies.”
