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Media Research Center president Brent Bozell and other conservative leaders on Tuesday announced plans to send a letter to the Attorneys General of all 50 states calling for an investigation into whether Big Tech companies are in violation of the Consumer Protection Statute in their respective states.
"The CEOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter have repeatedly alleged their platforms are neutral forums for political speech and that they support an equal exchange of ideas. The actions by these tech companies, however, prove those claims are patently false. Conservative speech is under attack. Countless conservatives, former President Trump included, have been censored or outright banned on these platforms for simply expressing their beliefs," Bozell said in a statement.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CEO Sundar Pichai. (Getty Images)
"We cannot allow Facebook, Google and Twitter to continue to deceive the public with lies about the political neutrality of their products," Bozell continued. "We’re urging Americans who believe in preserving free speech to contact their state attorney general and request they investigate these companies for their deceptive trade practices."
The letter requests that each Attorneys General "initiate an investigation to determine if Twitter, Facebook, and Google/YouTube violated the consumer protection statute" as a result of "engaging in deceptive trade practices."
"Specifically, Twitter, Facebook, and Google/Youtube may have knowingly and intentionally violated their terms of service by publicly claiming their services were neutral platforms when in fact they are not. Consider the following claims made by the CEOs of these companies in sworn testimony," the letter said before listing various statements made by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and CEO Sundar Pichai.
TWITTER SUSPENDS @REALDONALDTRUMP ACCOUNT PERMANENTLY
"The CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Google/YouTube all purport to be non-partisan platforms for communication," the letter states. "Individuals and organizations join and engage with these platforms, providing their personal information and paying for commercial goods and services. Individuals and organizations who participate on these platforms do so with the understanding that these platforms are what their CEOs publicly represent them as: unbiased sources of communication."
The letter then listed "public evidence" that "contradicts the claims made by the social media CEOs that Twitter, Facebook, and Google/YouTube are open and neutral communications platforms."
Among the evidence listed, the letter mentioned Twitter’s "unprecedented move to remove President Trump’s account," Google allegedly targeting conservative platforms and Facebook removing content and "picking and choosing who will be allowed to have a voice on the platform and who will not."
"If these organizations have indeed engaged in these types of patterns of behavior, then their business practices fly in the face of what they represent their platforms to be. Facebook, Google and Twitter are willfully and knowingly misrepresenting the nature of the services they are offering to the public. They claim they are platforms free from political bias, but that is unequivocally not the case. In fact, during a Senate hearing in October 2020, both Twitter and Facebook claimed that they censored liberal accounts as much as conservatives. When asked to provide an example of liberal accounts they censor, neither Facebook’s Zuckerberg nor Twitter’s Dorsey could come up with a single example," the letter said.
"The users of these platforms give away their private information and engage in the use of these platforms with the understanding that their engagement will not be censored, nor will others. Further, those who use the platforms for commercial purposes also buy services from the platforms to promote goods and services, with the clear and reasonable expectation that these platforms are what they say they are," the letter continued. "Google/ YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook therefore all appear to be engaging in deceptive trade practices and as with all other 49 US states, they are open to investigation in your state under your state’s consumer protections laws."
The conservative leaders said they represent "millions of Americans who have felt firsthand the deceptive bias of these platforms respectfully request that you initiate an investigation into these companies."
"We believe that these acts provide reasonable cause for you to use your enforcement mechanisms for the investigation of this issue in your state," the letter stated. "Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, and Google YouTube have unparalleled power in our modern society."
Each Attorneys General is then cautioned they "owe it to the citizens of your state to investigate the harmful and fraudulent trade practices of these deceptive platforms."
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The letter is also signed by Human Events publisher Will Chamberlain, The Martin Organization founder Rod D. Martin, Campaign for the American Future’s Lourdes Cosio, National Federation of Republican Assemblies ex-National Chaplain Shawn A. Mitchell, 60 Plus Association founder James L. Martin, 60 Plus Association president Saul Anuzis, ConservativeHQ.com managing editor George K Rasley, Jr., Rio Grande Foundation president Paul J. Gessing, Life Site News editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen, WND vice president David Kupelian, Conservative Partnership Institute senior director of policy Rachel Bovard, Eagle Forum president emeritus Eunie Smith, Eagle Forum of Alabama executive director Becky Gerritson, Family Watch International president Sharon Slater, Dr. Ted Baehr, American Principles Project executive director Terry Schilling, American Principles Project director of policy and government affairs Jon Schweppe, Catholic League president Bill Donohue, Eagle Forum chairman Anne Schlafly Cori, Heartland Institute vice president Jim Lakely, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. president C. Preston Noell IIII, Tea Party Patriots Action honorary chairman Jenny Beth Martin, NSIC Institute founder Kevin Freeman, Citizens United president David Bossie, American Target Advertising, Inc. president of corporate affairs Mark Fitzgibbons, Regnery Publishing publisher Thomas Spence, Republican Party of Texas chairman LTC Allen West, ACT For America founder Brigitte Gabriel, Students for Life of America spokesperson Kristi Hamrick, RCW Speakers founder Nancy Schulze, Angel Pictures & Publicity president Tricia Erickson, Americans for Limited Government president Richard Manning, Americans for Limited Government vice president Robert Romano, Family Watch International president Sharon Slater, Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance, Christian Broadcasting Network vice president Rob Allman, Center for Family and Human Rights president Austin Ruse, American Family Association director Sandy Rios, Center of the American Experiment president John Hinderaker, American Family Association president Tim Wildmon, Constitutional Congress, Inc. chairman Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell, The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, Women for America First chairman Amy Kremer, Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins, Center for Military Readiness president Elaine Donnelly, WND founder and CEO Joseph Farah, American Values president Gary L. Bauer, Young America’s Foundation president Scott Walker and Western Journal publisher Floyd Brown.
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