Gabbard Releases Damning Video on Google Bias, Calls Big Tech 'Direct Threat to Our Democracy'
If you have been following my writing for a while, you are a) entertained and more brilliant than before, and b) aware that I am passionate about exploring the dangers of censorship and bias with Google and big technology companies.
And because I write for The Western Journal, a conservative publisher, most of the articles, tweets and reports that we cover are dismissed by the left as the paranoid rantings of a whiny minority that refuses to fade into the ether.
When conservatives criticize Big Tech over bias, they are mocked as crazy, unsophisticated or pandering dolts.
So it was with great surprise and deep pleasure that I watched Democratic presidential candidate and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s newest campaign video.
Gabbard’s video is part of her new charge against Google over allegations that while her name was going viral after the first round of Democratic debates, Google disabled her ability to advertise to searchers on the platform. She has filed a $50 million federal lawsuit against the company.
The congresswoman is suggesting that Google took that action intentionally in an effort to stymie her campaign and aid some other, more favored candidates from the Democrat field. In a statement released regarding her complaint, Gabbard called Google and other big tech companies “a clear and present danger to our democracy.”
“Google’s discriminatory actions against my campaign are reflective of how dangerous their complete dominance over internet search is, and how the increasing dominance of big tech companies over our public discourse threatens our core American values,” she told The New York Times.
In her opening remarks in the new video, Gabbard talked about America’s long history of appreciation for free speech.
“Throughout this country’s history, our freedom of speech has always been viewed through a single lens,” she said. “That we, the American people, can express ourselves openly, we can share ideas and we can peacefully protest without fear of punishment. We could exercise this right without any censorship, threat of arrest or government intervention that would otherwise restrict our freedoms.”
Join me in this fight to end big tech monopolies power to censor & undermine Americans’ freedom of speech—because whether we are progressives or conservatives, left or right, if we do not stand united to protect our freedoms, we all lose. https://t.co/Ei3Ws5H257 #TULSI2020 pic.twitter.com/wt5MJKT94G
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) July 29, 2019
Next, Gabbard outlined the growth of technology and its impact on our everyday life.
“Now over the last two decades, technology has completely revolutionized how we as a society communicate,” she said. “An enormous amount of public discourse now happens over the internet, where a very select handful of corporations yield enormous power over your access to information. Nearly 70% of all Americans now use Facebook. Google controls 88% of all internet searches in the United States, with 73% using their YouTube platform.”
Gabbard expressed concern that with that much power and not much accountability, Facebook and Google will do damage to the fundamental American understanding of freedom of speech.
“These two technology conglomerates, without any oversight, can decide who and what is seen or heard,” she said.
In perhaps the most damning part of the video — and the part that should bring applause from every person who has followed bias in Silicon Valley — Gabbard showed she recognizes that certain speech, while unpleasant, should still be protected.
“They have banned voices, who, while controversial and maybe even distasteful, have not incited violence or threatened others,” the congresswoman said. “Their sole offense was expressing a view that these corporations deemed unacceptable. In fact, Google has admitted on several occasions to suspending those who have not violated any of their terms of use.
“This alarming trend has been growing, with tech giants continuing to silence voices and restrict access to information. This concentration of power and influence is a direct threat to our democracy, which is why I have taken action against Google, and will continue to advocate for breaking up these tech monopolies and ending their power to undermine our freedom of speech. We all must fight to protect and preserve the fundamental freedoms that make America the greatest nation on earth.”
Gabbard is a Democrat with whom I disagree on many issues. But it took courage for her to take this stance, and she will no doubt lose political capital for having said these words.
So I admit that her closing comments in the video are as powerful as they are true.
“I’m calling upon you and all Americans to join me in this fight, whether we are progressives or conservatives, left or right,” Gabbard said. “If we do not stand united in this struggle to protect our freedoms, we all lose.”
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