Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf condemned Twitter’s censorship of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan this week over a post celebrating the success of the southern border wall as “disturbing” threat to national security.
On Wednesday, Morgan’s account was locked after the U.S. border chief was prevented from publishing a tweet that the company said was in violation of platform rules governing “hateful conduct.”
“You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease,” Twitter explained in an email upon suspension. As is clear from the banned post’s text however, the commissioner did not threaten anyone based on race, national origin, or anything else.
“Not only was Twitter’s act of censorship – the tweet is supported by data – it is disturbing,” Wolf wrote to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. “As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other Federal agencies continue to rely on Twitter to share important information with the U.S. public, your censorship poses a threat to our security.”
Twitter’s censoring of factual information poses a threat to national security.
It should not be up to corporate bureaucrats to determine what security information the American public receives. https://t.co/9WzHcn4HLn pic.twitter.com/4lHJW5vEpZ
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) October 30, 2020
Twitter, according to Wolf, initially denied the CBP’s appeal to unlock the commissioner’s account and only reversed its decision after further review and subsequent reporting by The Federalist Thursday.
“It is dangerous and damaging,” Wolf wrote, “when any publisher arbitrarily and unfoundedly decides, as it did here, that the facts and policies of a particular Presidential Administration constitute ‘violence’ – in order to censor them.”
Twitter’s censorship, which came hours after the company’s CEO testified before lawmakers on content moderation in the wake of suppressing compromising information on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, sparked outrage from Senate Republicans demanding enhanced regulation of Silicon Valley tech giants wielding unchecked monopoly power over the digital public square.
Now @Twitter is suspending law enforcement officials for discussing border security – you can’t make this stuff up https://t.co/5nH1XF0HBj
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 29, 2020
This is nuts.
Twitter Suspends U.S. Border Chief Over Pro-Wall Post#EndBigTechCensorship https://t.co/lvG6LS0pTp
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 29, 2020
Having banned the @nypost for daring to report on Joe Biden, Twitter is now banning the *U.S. government* from pointing out facts about border security and illegal immigration.
Walls work, @Twitter. pic.twitter.com/9odPhGJZHk
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) October 29, 2020
The border wall meanwhile, which DHS reported is on track to reach 450 miles of construction by the year’s end has indeed been working by forcing border-crossers to ports of entry, where agents are better equipped to catch criminals and process those wishing to enter legally. Border Patrol encounters with illegal migrants have dropped more than 50 percent since 2019 as the wall deters aliens from embarking on the risky voyage.
“If you look at the tweet in question again,” Morgan told The Federalist Wednesday on the problematic post, “every mile helps us stop gang members, murderers, and pedophiles from entering our country. It’s just a fact.”
