RFK Jr. Floats Idea For Government-Owned Social Media Site That Would Be ‘Free Of Censorship’
Jason Cohen on July 5, 2023
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed the potential establishment of a government-operated social media platform during an interview with actor and comedian Russell Brand on Tuesday.
Kennedy articulated his strategies for eradicating censorship within the United States and mentioned the possibility of implementing a government-run social media platform if alternative approaches prove ineffective during the interview. “If the government has to start its own [platform] under some rubric that is guaranteed to be free of censorship, then I will do that,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy promised to combat censorship by signing executive orders prohibiting government involvement in such practices if he is elected. “As soon as I get in office I’m gonna issue a series of executive orders and national security orders ordering government agencies and government officials — any federal government employee — to refrain from any kind of participation in any censorship.”
Kennedy then said he would bring together the top Big Tech executives to make sure their platforms censor illegal content like pedophilia and incitement of violence without suppressing protected speech. “I’m gonna bring the big tech titans, the big CEOs, into a meeting in the White House and I’m gonna have an all-day or two-day or three-day seminar to figure out what we can do,” Kennedy stated. If they still cannot stop censoring free speech Kennedy “would consider making them common carriers where it’s illegal to censor.”
However, he stated this would not be his preference. “I don’t want to do that, I think it’s much better for them to stay as private companies but they need to recognize they are now the public square,” Kennedy said. “That is just the reality of our time. If you want to talk to large groups of Americans, those are the only places you can do it.”
Kennedy has faced censorship multiple times during his presidential campaign so far. YouTube confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation in June that it removed an interview with him conducted by Canadian clinical psychologist and author Dr. Jordan B. Peterson due to “vaccine misinformation.”
“I’m gonna … make the United States an example of a censorship-free nation,” Kennedy vowed in the interview.
Kennedy did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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