Ahead of Senate hearing, Rick Scott likens Twitter, Facebook to Communist Chinese government

Rick Scott. Image via AP.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott has a bone to pick with Big Tech, and Wednesday’s meeting of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation promises confrontation.

On Tuesday evening, Scott released a list of proposed questions for the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Google regarding “censorship” by the tech giants.

One is especially provocative, boiling down to why Twitter and Facebook feel emboldened to act like the communist Chinese government.

“How are your actions any different than the Communist regime in China,” Scott plans to ask.

“Since Twitter and Facebook are blocked in Communist China, the Communist regime serves as the gatekeeper of information for their people, often blocking them from the truth of their oppressive regime. Considering your recent actions to block the New York Post article about Hunter Biden, you are essentially acting like gatekeepers of information as well,” Scott contends.

The story of Hunter Biden allegedly using his father’s name and influence to help forge business relationships has been one ignored largely on the left, while figures on the right have worked to promulgate it without taking ownership for the argument. The New York Post is still suspended from Twitter for disseminating the story.

Other questions, should they get aired, likely will prove provocative also.

“Why do you block, censor, and flag the Tweets of conservatives in America, like President Donald Trump or Leader Mitch McConnell, for ‘potential misinformation,’ while allowing dictators to spew their propaganda,” Scott intends to ask.

The Senator offered a statement explaining his position.

“The American people believe that when they sign up for these social media platforms, they won’t be blocked or kicked off because of their political views. These big tech CEOs are going to have to answer, on the record and under oath, why they are targeting conservatives and putting their thumb on the scale during this election,” Scott said in a release accompanying the questions.

“And they will have to answer why they continue to censor conservatives while giving dangerous dictators like Maduro and General Secretary Xi a platform to spew their lies and propaganda. They can’t just pick and choose which viewpoints are allowed on their platform and expect to keep the immunity granted by Section 230. It’s our responsibility to hold their companies accountable and protect Americans’ ability to speak freely.”