White House Supports ‘Ability to Speak Freely’ on Social Media

April 13th, 2018 11:30 AM

The White House officially waded into the controversy surrounding conservative censorship on social media.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders answered a question by a Breitbart reporter about conservative voices who say they have been suppressed online, particularly by Facebook. The reporter, Michelle Moons, asked Sanders, “Is the White House concerned with Facebook’s efforts to silence conservatives?”

“Certainly, the White House would always support, not just conservatives, but everyone having the ability to speak freely on a number of platforms across this country, and certainly support the constitution that provides that right,” Sanders responded.

While the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee Americans the right to use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet, many conservatives have said they’ve been censored for their political views online. The issue was brought up by multiple members of Congress, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during his congressional testimony.

Zuckerberg responded to Cruz’s questions about Facebook’s political neutrality by saying that he tries to “root out” political bias, although he understands the concern, given Facebook is located in Silicon Valley, “an extremely left-leaning place.” He also said that he is “very committed to making sure that Facebook is a platform for all ideas,” including conservative ideas.