White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says President Joe Biden’s administration is a “believer” in First Amendment rights but that social media companies need to make decisions about how to limit the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
During a White House press briefing on Wednesday, NBC News’ Kristen Welker noted a tweet from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) about the decision by Facebook’s independent Oversight Board to uphold the ban on Trump.
The Texas senator wrote in a tweet, “For every liberal celebrating Trump’s social media ban, if the Big Tech oligarchs can muzzle the former President, what’s to stop them from silencing you?”
Disgraceful.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 5, 2021
For every liberal celebrating Trump’s social media ban, if the Big Tech oligarchs can muzzle the former President, what’s to stop them from silencing you? https://t.co/Yky4P0B38X
Welker asked, “Does he have a point?”
“Let me first say that this is an independent board’s decision, and we’re not going to have any comment on the future of the former president’s social media platform,” Psaki responded as she noted the board directed Facebook to review its decision within six months.
She continued, “The president’s view is that the major platforms have a responsibility, related to the health and safety of all Americans, to stop amplifying untrustworthy content, disinformation, and misinformation, especially related to COVID-19, vaccinations, and elections.”
Psaki also also said Biden supports “better privacy protections and a robust anti-trust program.”
“His view is that there’s more that needs to be done to ensure that this type of misinformation, disinformation, damaging sometimes life-threatening information, is not going out to the American public,” she added.
Watch the video below:
TRUMP FACEBOOK BAN: Jen Psaki responds to Facebook upholding their ban on Trump, highlighting the need for social media to prevent misinformation, while a reporter quotes Ted Cruz and asks if the White House is worried about 1st Amendment rights pic.twitter.com/GivBeCoJ3r
— Forbes (@Forbes) May 5, 2021
Welker asked a follow-up to that point, “You’re saying more that needs to be done, are there any concerns though about First Amendment rights, and where does the White House draw the line on that?”
“I think we are of course a believer in First Amendment rights, I think what the decisions are that the social media platforms need to make is how they address the disinformation, misinformation, especially related to life-threatening issues like COVID-19 and vaccinations that continue to proliferate on their platforms,” Psaki responded.