A resurfaced video of Vice President Kamala Harris threatening to weaponize the Department of Justice (DOJ) against social media platforms that did not censor "hate" and "misinformation" during the 2020 presidential campaign has sparked controversy.
The speech, delivered at the 2019 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Detroit, Michigan, focused on Harris' vision for combatting "online extremism" after a series of alleged white supremacist shooters used social media platforms to strengthen their messages before attacking places of worship. At the time, she pledged to "double" the civil rights division at the DOJ to monitor social media platforms that did not censor "hate" and "misinformation."
"We'll put the Department of Justice of the United States back in the business of justice. We will double the Civil Rights Division and direct law enforcement to counter this extremism. We will hold social media platforms accountable for the hate infiltrating their platforms because they have a responsibility to help fight against this threat to our democracy," said then-2020 presidential candidate and Senator Harris. (Related: Kamala Harris admits she WON'T DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT from Biden.)
"[The year] 2018 was the deadliest year on record for domestic terrorism since the Oklahoma City bombing more than 20 years ago, and I'm telling you, we can't feed it, I'm telling you I won't ignore it, I won't tolerate it," Harris added, talking about the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, the mosque bombing in Minnesota and the three black churches set on fire in Louisiana. "If you profit off of hate, if you act as a megaphone for misinformation or cyber warfare, if you don't police your platforms, we are going to hold you accountable."
This, in turn, has sparked debate online now that she's running again for president.
Critics argue that such a move would infringe on the First Amendment rights of Americans as terms like "hate" and "misinformation" are inherently subjective. Detractors have also cited past instances where accurate information, such as content regarding Hunter Biden's laptop and vaccine side effects, was labeled as misinformation.
"If implemented, these measures could have a significant impact on how speech is regulated both online and offline. It could also set a precedent for government intervention in the digital realm, raising questions about the balance between free speech and public safety," Country Local News wrote.
Censorship of "hate" and "misinformation" targets Republicans and conservatives
In 2019, then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey held internal meetings with its executives, wherein one noted that immediately banning "racist" rhetoric could remove many Republican users from the platform.
A series of tweets from then-President Donald Trump suggested that social media was doing exactly that. "The wonderful Diamond and Silk have been treated so horribly by Facebook. They work so hard and what has been done to them is very sad – and we're looking into it. It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!" Trump posted on May 4, 2019.
"How can it be possible that James Woods (and many others), a strong but responsible conservative voice, is banned from Twitter? Social media and fake news media, together with their partner, the Democrat Party, have no idea the problems they are causing for themselves. VERY UNFAIR!" Trump posted again the next day.
In other words, this censorship of "hate" and "misinformation" on social media platforms is primarily targeting Republicans and conservatives.
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Watch a recent discussion on how Kamala Harris "doesn't know anything."
This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com.
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