Show-Me State Times

During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) questioned representatives from major technology companies about the Biden administration’s efforts to influence content moderation on their platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing, titled "Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans, Part II," focused on claims that federal officials pressured tech firms to censor conservative viewpoints and remove or demote content labeled as “disfavored.”

Senator Schmitt addressed Markham Erickson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google, regarding search result biases during the 2024 election. Schmitt asked, “Mr. Erickson. Let’s talk about search during the 2024 election. While Google search was an illegal monopoly, according to the court, it was repeatedly biased against President Trump. If you searched ‘where can I vote for Donald Trump’ Google showed nothing. Is that correct? You’re aware of this, right?” Erickson responded, “Senator, I am not aware of that […] I can assure you there is no political manipulation of our search results.”

Schmitt continued by questioning why certain autocomplete suggestions did not include former President Trump’s name prior to the 2024 election. He stated: “I also want to ask you when you type in ‘President Donald’, Google would prompt you with ‘President Donald Duck’ or ‘President Donald Reagan’, not ‘President Trump’ in the lead up to the 2024 election. Is that just a coincidence?” Erickson replied: “Senator, we are very proud that Google search is the most trusted platform for information.”

The senator further pressed Erickson about whether Google had yielded to White House pressure regarding content removal during the pandemic: “[...] So, you guys didn’t succumb to any pressure from the [Biden] White House to censor speech?” Erickson said: “Senator, when we get communications from the Biden administration or the Trump administration or any government entity around the world, our trust and safety teams apply our terms of service and guidelines independently.”

Schmitt then referenced specific bans on figures such as Dan Bongino and RFK Jr., asking if those decisions were made solely by Google. Erickson answered: “Senator, I am not familiar with those specifications.”

Turning his attention to Facebook (Meta), Schmitt questioned Neil Potts, Vice President of Public Policy at Meta, about internal communications indicating government pressure influenced content decisions during COVID-19. Schmitt cited emails and statements from CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledging external pressure: “Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to [Congressman] Jim Jordan said ‘we were repeatedly pressured to censor certain COVID-19 content. The government pressure was wrong, and I regret we didn’t do more, and we weren’t more outspoken.’” Potts confirmed this account: “That is correct.” When asked directly if Meta had been coerced by federal officials into removing content, Potts responded: “Senator, if I can add a bit of nuance here — we felt pressure from the Biden administration. We ultimately made those decisions of our own volition. We have our policies; we made those decisions. In hindsight, would we have made different choices with all the information we have today? I’m sure we would make different choices.”

In closing remarks directed at Meta’s representative regarding Section 230 protections and alleged threats from federal officials related to content moderation practices during COVID-19 response efforts aimed primarily at conservative voices online, Schmitt said: “In closing, forgive me if the fact that the Biden administration was threatening to [make] Section 230 protections go away they were threatening investigations. So,the idea that [Facebook] didn’t succumb to pressure from the White House to censor exclusively conservatives during the COVID-19 pandemic is laughable.But thank you.I’m out of time.”