Democrat senators on Friday will weigh whether or not Elon Musk should testify about how he intends to reform Twitter.
The senators’ deliberation comes after the Biden administration on Wednesday created a “Disinformation Governance Board” just two days after Musk’s inked the deal with Twitter. It appears Democrats are gearing up for a two-pronged attack on any changes Musk makes to the platform.
“We’re thinking about it,” Commerce Committee Chair Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) told Bloomberg News about a potential hearing. No hearing has yet been scheduled, but Democrats may find a hearing politically expedient.
Since Musk’s successful bid to take Twitter private, congressional Democrats have become interested in what changes Musk may make to the platform. The multi-billionaire has promised Twitter’s users that free speech should be allowed in the “public square,” an idea that Democrats challenge. Other changes may include combatting cryptocurrency scams, creating an edit button, and opening up Twitter’s algorithm.
Fellow member of the Commerce Committee Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) told the publication a hearing is needed to question Musk about how he might allow free speech on the platform.
“We have to understand the censorship or lack thereof, content moderation or not, that is going to be the policy for the new owner,” Markey said. “It is important for the representatives of the American people to hear what the new owners intend on using that technology to accomplish.”
Before Musk inked the acquisition of Twitter, Democrats were less interested in the platform’s censorship of free speech. Some Democrats were simply interested in “competition, privacy and protections for children.” But with Musk likely to allow more speech on the platform, Democrats are adjusting their political lens.
“There is a powerful imperative to ask him to tell Congress and the American people how he’s going to address the concerns that we’ve raised,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) added in favor of Musk testifying.
Democrats have more tools in their pocket than congressional oversight. On Wednesday, the Biden administration used its power to create a “Ministry of Truth” or a so-dubbed “Disinformation Governance Board.” The administration announced the board two days after Musk signed the purchase agreement with Twitter.
President Biden appointed Nina Jankowicz as the head of the board. Jankowicz’s political views are fa-left. She has suggested Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation. She insinuated Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is a threat to free speech by alleging that “free speech absolutists were taking over more platforms.”
“By all means, let’s regulate social media. But let’s do it with proper thought and consultation, with the nation’s best interests at heart, not with the sweep of a sharpie in response to a specter of ‘political censorship’ that doesn’t exist,” Jankowicz tweeted in 2019.
Jankowicz has also suggested Donald Trump fomented “homegrown fascism” and alleged America is a systemically racist nation.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter and Gettr @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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