BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Have you ever found yourself in social media Jail? Locked out of your account, your comments blocked? It happened to a previous President, and countless others. Perhaps a comment went against a community standard, so said the entity blocking you? If so, you should know that two Attorneys General, including our own Steve Marshall, and Louisiana’s Jeff Landry, are asking for public information about your experience.
Even the Elmore/Autauga News has dealt with this issue on some level. Last year we discovered when people searched for us, a label was attached saying to beware of our content because it could be misleading or incorrect. So, yes, we are interested in this as well.
If you feel that you have been irresponsibly censored by social media platforms, you are encouraged to file a complaint. Information on how to do that can be found in the press release below from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office.
Alabama, Louisiana Attorneys General Provide a “Social Media Censorship Complaint Form” Where the Public Can Officially Report Abuses by Big Tech
(MONTGOMERY)—Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry today launched an initiative aimed at addressing censorship on social media platforms. As part of the initiative, the official website of each attorney general now provides a “Social Media Censorship Complaint Form” for the public to report abuses by Big Tech.
Attorney General Marshall and Attorney General Landry are encouraging the public to enlist in the fight against Big Tech censorship, calling on all persons who have been censored online to file a formal complaint. The information provided in these complaints will be kept confidential, in accordance with each state’s laws, and will be actively reviewed and thoroughly analyzed to determine whether the reported conduct by social media companies constitutes a violation of federal or state law.
“Big Tech is not the Ministry of Truth. It should concern us all when platforms that hold such tremendous power and influence over information wield that power in contradiction of—and with undisguised disdain for—the foundational American principles of free speech and freedom of the press,” said Attorney General Marshall. “The censorship campaign currently being waged by giant corporate oligarchs like Facebook and Twitter is, in a word, un-American.”
“I encourage anyone and everyone who has been censored on social media to file a formal complaint with my office,” Attorney General Marshall continued. “The process is simple and straightforward—and will provide us with important information to fight the growing menace of censorship by the great malefactors of tech.”
“From political speech to healthcare research to economic activity, Big Tech has censored content to fit their ideological bents—violating users’ rights to silence opposition. Social media platforms have altered and deleted content, blocked and restricted access, removed and banned accounts, and more,” said Attorney General Landry. “I encourage all who have been impacted to file a complaint, and I hope this initiative will expose just how far-reaching the suppression has been.”
Complaints can be filed with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office using the “Social Media Censorship Complaint Form” on its website at AlabamaAG.gov/Censored.
