Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

House Republicans call out Biden surgeon general for 'colluding with Big Tech'

House Republicans call out Biden surgeon general for 'colluding with Big Tech'

GOP reps raise concerns about Vivek Murthy working with social media platforms to censor coronavirus misinformation

House Oversight Committee Republicans issued a strong rebuke Friday against President Biden's surgeon general for working with social media companies to pull coronavirus disinformation off their platforms.

In a letter to Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Republicans accuse the surgeon general of trying to censor Americans on social media and suggest the White House may be "colluding with Big Tech."

"In an apparent effort to stifle scientific and medical debate, the Biden Administration is taking affirmative steps to moderate and censor Americans’ speech," the letter to Murthy, first obtained by Fox, says. "This is unconscionable."

The letter was organized by GOP Reps. Bob Gibbs of Ohio, Byron Donalds of Florida and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer of Kentucky.

The GOP lawmakers are requesting a trove of documents from Murthy by Aug. 6, including all communication the Surgeon General's office has had with Facebook, Twitter, Alphabet, TikTok, Reddit and Snap.


The lawmakers say the Biden Administration's efforts to work with Big Tech to police objectionable content is a serious threat to the First Amendment.

"It should concern every American of every political stripe that Big Government is teaming up with Big Tech to merge into Big Brother," Gibbs said in a statement to Fox.

Donalds said it's "profoundly concerning to hear that the Biden-Harris Administration is colluding with Big Tech." The freshman lawmaker argued that Americans should have "unfettered information and make decisions for themselves."

The letter to Murthy comes a day after nearly the entire House GOP caucus wrote to President Biden telling him he's acting like a "Cuban dictator" with his social media censorship campaign and urged him to stop working with Facebook and other platforms to flag coronavirus fake news.

With coronavirus cases on the rise and vaccination rates slowing in the United States, the White House launched last week an effort to crack down on misinformation, starting with a warning from Surgeon General Murthy that bogus information about coronavirus is an "urgent threat" to public health.

The Surgeon General's office issued a new report titled, "Confronting Health Misinformation," that makes recommendations for social media platforms to "impose clear consequences for accounts that repeatedly violate platform policies."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also announced that the Biden administration has been "flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation" to have the platform remove.

The White House insists the social media misinformation is literally "killing people" with individuals refusing to get a vaccine against a preventable illness because of lies they are believing on the internet. The White House has been frustrated with social media companies, especially Facebook, for not doing more to pull false content before it goes viral.

For its part, Facebook has pushed back hard against the Biden Administration by touting everything it's done to spread helpful COVID-19 information, such as where to find vaccination sites, and said the White House was just looking for "scapegoats for missing their vaccine goals."

Biden had set a July 4 goal of having 70% of adult Americans at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, but he missed that goal as vaccination rates have slowed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just over 68% of adults in the country had received at least one vaccination shot as of Wednesday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Good News: Senate Confirms Kash Patel as FBI Director
Officials from the U.S. and Hungary Engage in Talks on Economic Collaboration and Sanctions Strategy
James Bond Franchise Transitions to Amazon MGM Studios
Technology Giants Ramp Up Lobbying Initiatives Against Strict EU Regulations
Alibaba Exceeds Quarterly Projections Fueled by Growth in Cloud and AI
Tequila Sector Faces Surplus Crisis as Agave Prices Dive Sharply
Residents of Flintshire Mobile Home Park Grapple with Maintenance Issues and Uncertain Future
Ronan Keating Criticizes Irish Justice System Following Fatal Crash Involving His Brother
Gordon Ramsay's Lucky Cat Restaurant Faces Unprecedented Theft
Israeli Family Mourns Loss of Peace Advocate Oded Lifschitz as Body Returned from Gaza
Former UK Defense Chief Calls for Enhanced European Support for Ukraine
Pope Francis Admitted to Hospital in Rome Amid Rising Succession Speculation
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, at the age of 83, Declares His Retirement.
Whistleblower Reveals Whitehall’s Focus on Kabul Animal Airlift Amid Crisis
Politicians Who Deliberately Lie Could Face Removal from Office in Wales
Scottish Labour Faces Challenges Ahead of 2026 Holyrood Elections
Leftwing Activists Less Likely to Work with Political Rivals, Study Finds
Boris Johnson to Host 'An Evening with Boris Johnson' at Edinburgh's Usher Hall
Planned Change in British Citizenship Rules Faces First Legal Challenge
Northumberland Postal Worker Sentenced for Sexual Assaults During Deliveries
British Journalist Missing in Brazil for 11 Days
Tesco Fixes Website Glitch That Disrupted Online Grocery Orders
Amnesty International Critiques UK's Predictive Policing Practices
Burglar Jailed After Falling into Home-Made Trap in Blyth
Sellafield Nuclear Site Exits Special Measures for Physical Security Amid Ongoing Cybersecurity Concerns
Avian Influenza Impact on Seals in Norfolk: Four Deaths Confirmed
First Arrest Under Scotland's Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Law Amidst International Controversy
Meghan Markle Rebrands Lifestyle Venture as 'As Ever' Ahead of Netflix Series Launch
Inter-Island Ferry Services Between Guernsey and Jersey Set to Expand
Significant Proportion of Cancer Patients in England and Wales Not Receiving Recommended Treatments
Final Consultation Launched for Vyrnwy Frankton Power Line Project
Drug Misuse Deaths in Scotland Rise by 12% in 2023
Failed £100 Million Cocaine Smuggling Operation in the Scottish Highlands
Central Cee Equals MOBO Awards Record; Bashy and Ayra Starr Among Top Honorees
EastEnders: Four Decades of Challenging Social Norms
Jonathan Bailey Channels 'Succession' in Bold Richard II Performance
Northern Ireland's First Astronaut Engages in Rigorous Spacewalk Training
Former Postman Sentenced for Series of Sexual Offences in Northumberland
Record Surge in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Across the UK in 2024
Omagh Bombing Inquiry Concludes Commemorative Hearings with Survivor Testimonies
UK Government Introduces 'Ronan's Law' to Combat Online Knife Sales to Minors
Metal Detectorists Unearth 15th-Century Coin Hoard in Scottish Borders
Woman Charged in 1978 Death of Five-Year-Old Girl in South London
Expanding Sinkhole in Godstone, Surrey, Forces Evacuations and Road Closures
Bangor University Announces Plans to Cut 200 Jobs Amid £15 Million Savings Target
British Journalist Charlotte Peet Reported Missing in Brazil
UK Inflation Rises to 3% in January Amid Higher Food Prices and School Fees
Starmer Defends Zelensky Amidst Trump's 'Dictator' Allegation
Zelensky Calls on World Leaders to Back Peace Efforts in Light of Strains with Trump
UK Prime minister, Mr. Keir Starmer, has stated that any peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine "MUST" include a US security guarantee to deter Russian aggression
×