Blackburn: Twitter ad block is an ‘infringement of free speech’
Twitter stirred controversy on Monday when it blocked Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) campaign ad over statements about Planned Parenthood. But the social media site eventually reversed its decision on Tuesday. Blackburn weighed in, telling the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney, “We put up a video announcing my campaign, we had pro-life language, we talked about what we…had done in chairing the Select Panel.”
When Varney asked what specific language they initially objected too, Blackburn responded, “They objected to ‘the selling of baby body parts,’ which is a practice that we stopped through the work of our investigative committee.”
Blackburn saw it as part of a broader effort to censor conservative speech.
“I do think it is censoring conservative opinion. The liberal media has had a habit of doing this.”
According to Blackburn, Twitter’s picking and choosing of ideas to either promote or block is infringing on Americans’ free speech.
“What you have some of these platforms doing, Twitter specifically, is deciding what can be promoted or pushed forward and what cannot and that is an infringement of free speech. “
However, Blackburn was gratified by Twitter’s reversal saying, “We were pleased that Twitter reversed their decision after about 36 hours.”