Government’s involvement in censorship a ‘grave threat to our republic,’ says Sen. Rand Paul
The Biden administration’s efforts to curb alleged COVID misinformation with help from Big Tech is being described as a "grave threat to our republic," from one Republican senator.
"I think it really is a grave threat to our republic to have the government involved with censoring speech," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stressed.
In documents obtained by FOX Business, the Biden administration partnered with Google-owned YouTube in 2021 to curb alleged "misinformation" related to COVID-19 and the vaccine.
During his appearance on "Mornings with Maria" Thursday, Paul claimed that YouTube has been "censoring free speech for quite a while now" and that the recent report on the administration’s efforts does not come as a surprise to him.
In a statement to FOX News Digital a spokesperson for Youtube said: "While we receive input from governments around the world, we apply our policies independently, transparently, and consistently, regardless of the speaker or the political views expressed."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
"If it was just them as a private company doing it, I really have no complaints. You know, private companies can do what they want to do. You can decide to edit your interviews anyhow you want to edit them. These are things that private companies do," the Kentucky senator explained.
"What I object to is the government meeting with YouTube, the government meeting with Twitter, the government meeting with Facebook, and indicating to them what kind of things they should take down," he continued.
After acquiring then-Twitter in 2022, tech pioneer Elon Musk announced that he would reveal how the company suppressed accounts at the expense of free speech.
During a series of installments released on the platform, it was revealed that both the Trump and Biden administrations worked alongside social media giants to quash ideas relating to COVID-19.
"They've [the government] had this for years now where they have an organized way of going on to the internet," Paul expressed.
FOX Business’ Bradford Betz, Chase Williams and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report