GOP Congress Members Pen Letter to Elon Musk Over Twitter Censorship: ‘Opportunity For Transformational Change’
Screenshot via YouTube
Republican members of Congress have penned a letter to Tesla CEO Elon Musk over censorship on Twitter – the sale of which to him is “temporarily on told,” as he put it.
The members behind the May 12 letter include Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Jim Banks (R-IN), Ken Buck (R-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Brian Mast (R-FL), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Barry Moore (R-AL).
Iranian officials & orgs like the IRGC that are designated by the US gov’t remain on Twitter, while others like Pres Trump are banned. I led a letter calling on @elonmusk to ensure Twitter complies w/ US law, while restoring it as a platform that protects & champions free speech. pic.twitter.com/rSLM3hQmuY
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) May 13, 2022
“You recent acquisition of Twitter presents the opportunity for transformational change of the organization,” they wrote. “This is a chance for you to restore the platform so it once again protects, values, and champions free speech.”
The members called on Musk “to correct a longstanding concern regarding the platform’s provision of digital services to sanctioned entities, like those affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran, who are responsible for, among other things, the murder of American citizens.”
The Republicans noted that Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, despite being sanctioned that would prohibit him from being on Twitter, is allowed to be on there with his multiple accounts that are in different languages. Those accounts altogether account for 1.6 million followers, according to the letter.
“Khamenei, in particular, has used the platform to threaten violence, call for the eradication of the State of Israel and the Jewish people, and promote conspiracy theories and disinformation,” they said. “He has posted tweets glorifying anti-Semitic terrorist groups, specifically Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The members of Congress stated that while they “stand for free speech and do not support arbitrary or political censorship by social media companies,” when it comes to Khamenei on Twitter, “it is not a question of free speech, but of whether an American company should be providing a service, for which it gives and derives benefit, to designated and terrorist affiliated individual and entities.”
