Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked if 'free speech is now illegal' when Facebook took down posts for events intended to promote large gatherings of people protesting against public health measures to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Facebook has insisted that removing the posts was their own decision, based on their policy of not allowing content that encourages people to violate laws by defying state health restrictions, rather than the instructions of state officials.
"We reached out to state officials to understand the scope of their orders, not about removing specific protests on Facebook," a company spokesperson told Politico."We remove the posts when gatherings do not follow the health parameters established by the government and are therefore unlawful." Although some have argued that the power of social media companies to restrict speech should be limited because it gives the companies too much power, free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment applies to restrictive actions by the government, not private companies like Facebook.
Sen. Josh Hawley speaks during a conference by the conservative Christian activist group Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2019.President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., also lashed out at the move on Facebook, claiming that the company enforcing the policy meant it was"colluding" with state governments.
"Why is @Facebook colluding with state governments to quash peoples free speech?" Trump Jr. tweeted."Regardless of what you think about the lockdowns or the protests against them, this is a chilling & disturbing government directed shutdown of peoples 1st Amendment rights. Very dangerous!"Regardless of what you think about the lockdowns or the protests against them, this is a chilling & disturbing government directed shutdown of peoples 1st Amendment rights.
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