FBI doesn’t suppress free speech, director Way says: Bureau chief insists agents will abide by ban on meeting with social media execs but insists there was no effort to suppress conservative voices
He claims that the agency does not direct social media companies to suppress free speech but ‘warns’ them of potential problems. ‘We have sent instructions to the field and headquarters on how to do this’
FBI Director Christopher Wray insisted that his agency had ordered the Biden administration to stop communicating with social media companies to comply with the Missouri court ruling.
He claimed that the agency does not direct social media companies to suppress free speech but ‘warns’ them of potential problems.
‘Of course we comply,’ said Ray. “We have sent instructions to the field and headquarters on how to do it. Needless to say the ban itself is the subject of ongoing litigation.’
Trump-appointed federal judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana has barred members of the White House, the Justice Department and the FBI from meeting with social media executives.
FBI Director Christopher Wray insisted that his agency had ordered the Biden administration to stop communicating with social media companies to comply with the Missouri court ruling.
He declined to block his own order while the Biden administration appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
The case was brought by Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana, who alleged that US government officials went too far in their efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts they worried might contribute to the vaccine dilemma or end elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The order bars agencies from speaking with social media companies for the purpose of ‘soliciting, encouraging, pressuring or in any way inducing the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of protected free speech content’ under the First Free Speech Clause. Amending the Constitution.
Critics, however, say the order is broad, vague and could chill government efforts to combat misinformation on important issues.
Some worry that this could undermine efforts to combat false and misleading narratives as Americans prepare for the 2024 presidential election.
And administration officials have argued that tech companies regulate their own policies on misinformation, and the case casts a threat to officials’ comments about the issue and policies.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed by Donald Trump, refused to block his own order barring communications between administration officials and Big Tech.
‘We have issued guidelines for everyone,’ Wei said, declining to say whether anyone would be disciplined for their communications with social media companies. ‘I’m not going to talk about workers we haven’t made that decision in this state.’
Key Takeaways:
‘Absolutely not!’ Wray insisted that GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz was not defending the Biden family after Hunter Biden displayed a ‘shakedown’ WhatsApp message sent by Republicans that ripped off 204,000 improper FISA questions conducted by the FBI: ‘People were looking at their ex-boyfriends, the FISA process. Gaetz Wray said he was ‘not sure’ if there were undercover agents at the Capitol complex on January 6, but that it was ‘ridiculous’ to say the agency was involved in the attack, he said in a memo from the Richmond field office about ‘radical traditional Catholics’. “The behavior in the Durham report was completely unacceptable,” Wray said. ‘It shouldn’t be allowed to happen again’ Way insists he’s not biased against conservatives because he is one: ‘The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems a bit crazy to me because of my own personal background’ says agency not targeting supporters Life Protesters – ‘Most of the investigations we’ve launched since the Dobbs decision … 70% of them, have involved violence against pro-life benefits’
Earlier this week the committee released a report based on documents submitted by Meta and Alphabet showing that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian intelligence agencies enlisted the FBI to help combat ‘Russian paranoia’ on social media.
The FBI has sent Ukraine evacuation requests to social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
‘Where to find [national security] Taking away American citizens’ interest in free speech?’ asked Rep. Darrell Issa. ‘Where is your authority?’
‘We don’t ask social media companies to censor information,’ Way emphasized.
‘What we do is alert them when another intelligence agency gives us information that a foreign intelligence agency is behind an account. We will draw the attention of social media companies to that,’ he said.
‘Not a suggestion of the strongest law enforcement operation. It is effectively a command,’ declared Issa.
Wray maintained that the organization never targeted conservatives — and noted that he himself is a Republican.
‘The idea that I’m biased against conservatives seems a bit crazy to me because of my own personal background,’ Wray told the committee.