IT & Technology News
Reporting on information technology, cybersecurity, and tech policy. The Daily Signal includes analysis, commentary, and opinion on technology’s impact.
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- Opinion
Elon Musk Makes Moves on Twitter. What Comes Next?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acquired a 9.2% share of Twitter stock and joined the social media company’s board of directors. The internet buzzed with the possibility of a free speech advocate like Musk having an internal position with the tech giant. But what does all of this really mean? To Annie Butler, a research…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
From Media Bias to Big Tech Censorship, Brent Bozell Exposes the Left’s Misdeeds
Media bias and dishonest journalism today seem worse than ever. Hollywood is embracing more and more explicit content, and even pushing it on our kids. And conservatives can’t catch a break with Big Tech, which has resorted to censoring and suppressing content at an alarming rate. For 35 years, Brent Bozell has taken on the…Robert B. Bluey -
- Opinion
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Targets Big Tech’s Censorship of Free Speech
Almost every day, it seems as though a Big Tech company has deplatformed another user. User content is blocked or removed continually. What is being done to hold Big Tech accountable for its actions? What is Section 230 in U.S. law, and does it need to be reformed? How can we protect both free speech…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Georgia Moves to Protect Conservatives, and Others, From Big Tech Censorship
In the face of Big Tech’s overwhelming censorship of conservatives, states are beginning to take matters into their own hands. The Georgia Senate last Tuesday passed SB 393, a bill that would prohibit social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter from deleting posts and banning users who live or work in Georgia based solely…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
11 People and Outlets Censored by Twitter for Questioning Gender Ideology
Of the many topics the radical left has tried to make verboten, there is none more contentious than gender ideology. At the mere suggestion that a man cannot become a woman or that there are only two genders, the Twitter harpies take flight to seek and destroy their target. Twitter is all too happy to…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
Censorship Takes Many Forms, Including Refusing to Cover Certain Stories
There has been much in the news lately about censorship. The major media have been reporting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to keep the Russian people from hearing the truth about his war against Ukraine and what President Joe Biden has called war crimes. Dictionary.com offers this definition of a censor: “an official who…Cal Thomas -
- Opinion
Facebook ‘Fact-Check’ Claims Video Citing Biden’s Own Words on Oil Drilling ‘Could Mislead’
Big Tech decides what’s correct or incorrect, truth or fiction, right or wrong. The most recent example: Facebook slapped a warning label on a Heritage Action for America video showing President Joe Biden talking about stopping oil drilling, asserting that “[i]ndependent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.” Facebook then linked to an AFP piece…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
Democrats, Green Activists Pressure Big Tech to Censor More Climate ‘Misinformation’
A House Democrat leading an investigation of oil industry “misinformation” blames social media companies for blocking legislation to counter climate change, even as Big Tech corporations move to demonetize and suppress debate on climate-related issues. Google acted to demonetize “climate denial” information. Facebook upped its fact-checking of climate-related posts, and emails obtained by watchdog groups…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
YouTube Censors Mom Fighting School Mask Mandates
Once again, Big Tech is deciding which voices can speak out and which ones can’t. The latest victim is a mom of four from Virginia whose interview with The Daily Signal was removed Thursday by YouTube. Merianne Jensen went viral earlier this month when she made a passionate speech about COVID-19 mask mandates affecting kids at school. Jensen was addressing the…Katrina Trinko -
- News
GW Students Debate Campus Censorship After Removal of Posters Critical of Chinese Communist Party
When George Washington University made national news last week after removing artwork criticizing China’s human rights abuses, it also sparked debate among students about free speech on college campuses. Controversy ensued when students hung posters that initially appeared to be advertisements for the Winter Olympics in China. Upon closer examination, they depicted Chinese human rights…Maggie Hroncich -
- Opinion
GoFundMe’s Sordid History of Censorship of Conservative Causes
The popular crowdfunding site GoFundMe has taken down yet another conservative donation campaign. As donations for the “Freedom Convoy” trucker protest in Ottawa, Ontario, reached $10 million on Feb. 4, GoFundMe pulled the plug on it and took the page down, alleging violence and unlawful activity as an excuse. To add insult to injury, the…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
In Face of Big Tech Censorship, Free Speech Alternatives Emerge Online
Big Tech actors like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube feel increasingly comfortable banning conservative voices from their platforms. But as Big Tech is willing to censor conservatives for their speech, other platforms devoted to free expression are starting to fill the gap. The director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology Policy, Lora Ries, contends that…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
Facebook Censors Pro-American Children’s Books as ‘Disruptive Content’
Writer, commentator, and editor Bethany Mandel only wanted to provide alternatives to the woke books being provided to children in school. So she was shocked when Facebook took down her page advertising such alternatives due to “disruptive content.” “There was no warning,” Mandel says of Facebook’s action. “They told us that our ads were low…Douglas Blair -
- News
Based on False Assumption, Amazon Still Censoring Book on Transgenderism
For three years, Amazon sold Ryan Anderson’s book “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment.” Then, last February, the book disappeared from Amazon’s virtual shelves. Anderson—president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative research institute—first learned his book was being censored when he received a message from someone who wanted to…Virginia Allen -
- News
Beijing Pays US Social Media Influencers to Hype Olympics, Downplay Boycotts
China’s government is paying social media influencers in the U.S. to promote the Beijing Olympics and distract from diplomatic boycotts over its human rights violations, according to disclosures filed with the Department of Justice. The Chinese Consulate is paying Vippi, a New Jersey-based public relations firm, $300,000 to have influencers on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch…Laurel Duggan -
- News
Federal Court Declares Texas Social Media Law Designed to Curb Censorship Unconstitutional
A Texas social media law designed to curb political censorship violated tech platforms’ First Amendment rights, a federal court found on Wednesday. Judge Robert Pitman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking HB 20, signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, in early September, and declared it…Ailan Evans -
- Opinion
Welcome to Mark Zuckerberg’s New Dystopia: the Metaverse
Americans are familiar with the idea of a dystopian future, dominated by an inescapable metaverse and ruled over by Big Tech overlords. Films such as “Blade Runner” and “Minority Report” depict a world conquered by technology and the terrifying consequences. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that he wants to take that world…Douglas Blair -
- Opinion
Climate Democracy Dies in Darkness, Censorship, and Groupthink
A British leftist group calling itself the Center for Countering Digital Hate has issued a report on what it calls the “Toxic Ten,” which are so-called fringe websites spreading “climate change denial.” The 10 include our group, the Media Research Center, as well as Breitbart, The Daily Wire, Townhall Media, Newsmax, The Washington Times, and…Tim Graham -
- News
Rep. Jim Banks, Censored by Twitter, Warns Big Tech Could ‘Wipe Conservative Voices Off the Map’
Rep. Jim Banks, chair of the Republican Study Committee, shares with The Daily Signal how Twitter censored him for calling Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine, who now identifies as a woman, a man. The Indiana Republican breaks down why Twitter censored him and what conversations he has had with the social media…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
New York Times Slams YouTube for ‘Arbitrary’ Censorship of Left-Wing Channel
The New York Times published an article late Thursday castigating YouTube for removing the channel of British left-wing news channel Novara Media. The article, titled “How a Mistake by YouTube Shows Its Power Over Media,” criticized the tech platform’s “opaque and sometimes arbitrarily enforced” rules, describing the company as an information “gatekeeper.” Novara, a British news…Ailan Evans