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Defund the Thought Police?

Notes from America’s forever war over censorship in Congress, between the White House and Mark Zuckerberg, and in the Texas court where Netflix is still fighting over Cuties.

amy klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar recently introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow small news outlets to collectively negotiate the content that appears on digital platforms. Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images
Eriq Gardner
September 12, 2022

This week, a video of a sparring Mark Zuckerberg went viral, but if you want to see real jiu jitsu, pay attention to what’s been happening in the nation’s capital, where Democrats and Republicans can’t see past their differences to rein in the Silicon Valley giants that both sides generally agree should be cut down to size. The problem, of course, is that Democrats are also worried about moderation of “disinformation,” while the G.O.P. is obsessed with censorship—specifically, the fear that Big Tech platforms are suppressing conservative voices. Industry lobbyists couldn’t have devised a better wedge issue, themselves.