(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The Federal Bureau of Investigation is refusing to name the social networks it paid off to censor social media content that fell out of line with the government narrative.
According to Big League Politics, this development is following news confirming that the FBI paid Twitter at least $3.5 million.
Fox News pushed the bureau to reveal the other companies it had paid. The FBI ran cover by claiming they offer payment for companies that require critical information for legal processes.
“While we are not able to speak to specific payments, the government is required to provide reimbursement for reasonable expenses directly related to searching for, assembling, reproducing, or otherwise providing the information responsive to the legal process,” FBI officials said.
“This requirement is set by federal law and the courts are the final arbiters of what is reasonable compensation.”
A post from the recent Twitter Files revealed that the government, though not necessarily the FBI, worked consistently with nearly every large social media platform.
“The government was in constant contact not just with Twitter but with virtually every major tech firm,” tweeted journalist Matt Taibbi. “These included Facebook, Microsoft, Verizon, Reddit, even Pinterest, and many others. Industry players also held regular meetings without government.”
Twitter CEO Elon Musk commented on the tweet, emphasizing the point and also implicating Google.
Most people don’t appreciate the significance of the point Matt was making:
*Every* social media company is engaged in heavy censorship, with significant involvement of and, at times, explicit direction of the government.
Google frequently makes links disappear, for example.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 27, 2022
Journalist Glenn Greenwald followed up on Musk’s response, claiming that the latest batch of Twitter files revealed that when Democrats were in control of Congress and the White House, “they repeatedly summoned Big Tech CEOs and openly and explicitly threatened them,” into more censoring a greater number of users.
Greenwald implicated the Department of Homeland Security and the Central Intelligence Agency in addition to the FBI.
Musk responded in the affirmative again.
Exactly!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 27, 2022
