Arkansas A.G. Demands Answers on YouTube Censorship

Big Tech,

Last week, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joined 15 other state attorneys general in a letter demanding that executives at Google and YouTube explain YouTube’s decision to censor conservative content.

The letter says that last September, YouTube’s parent company, Alphabet, Inc., publicly admitted that Senior Biden Administration officials “conducted repeated and sustained outreach to Alphabet and pressed the Company regarding certain user-generated content related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not violate its policies.”

The letter also notes that YouTube removed video footage of gatherings and events posted by conservative organizations.

To ensure YouTube is complying with consumer protection laws, the letter asks YouTube’s executives a series of questions about how the platform reviews, moderates, and flags video content, and it requests documents showing how YouTube treated conservative video channels like The Daily Wire and CPAC.

Unfortunately, we have seen tech companies and other corporations censor conservatives on their platforms in recent years — and sometimes it seems like our own government is the one pushing the censorship.

In 2024, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee saying the Biden Administration “pressured” his teams to censor content related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And congressional testimony and news stories have highlighted how federal officials allegedly pressured financial institutions to cancel bank accounts and suspend financial services for conservative organizations.

We deeply appreciate Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joining with his colleagues in holding tech companies accountable.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Kansas Attorney General Takes on Big Tech, Dangerous AI Chatbots

Social Media, Technology, ,

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is demanding answers from Big Tech companies over their dangerous AI companion chatbots that are harming children and families.

In a strongly worded letter to major AI developers, Kobach put the industry on notice, calling for real safeguards that protect kids.

“We’re seeing a very concerning trend where Big Tech releases AI products without meaningful safeguards,” Kobach said in a statement. Kobach highlighted a Topeka case in which a sexual predator used AI to create thousands of images depicting child abuse. National reports show AI chatbots encouraging teen suicide, promoting self-harm, and engaging in sexualized conversations with minors.

Some AI platforms even market themselves with slogans like “AI girls never say no.” As Kobach said, “That’s not a glitch in AI. It’s a failure of corporate accountability.”

The Kansas Attorney General gave the companies until January 30 to explain how they will ensure user safety and comply with Kansas age verification laws. Companies that have misrepresented their products’ safety or provided harmful content to minors may face consequences under Kansas law.

Arkansas families and policymakers should pay close attention to this situation.

Arkansas has been a leader when it comes to protecting children online, passing laws to verify ages and restrict harmful content. But AI chatbots can engage children in conversations that seem real but may encourage dangerous behaviors or expose them to inappropriate content.

Arkansas parents need to know what their children are accessing online. They should ask tough questions about any AI apps or chatbots their kids might be using.

Our friends at the Daily Citizen said it very well last summer:

When it comes to keeping children safe online, parents have their work cut out for them. Companies like xAI shouldn’t compound the problem by adding sexualized A.I. features to an app children use. But, unfortunately, there’s nothing stopping them from doing so.

No company is going to work harder than you to protect your kids. The best solution is to play it safe — keep your kids well away from A.I. chatbots and other dangerous internet traps.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Meta Will Stop “Fact-Checking” on Facebook, Instagram

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On Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the social media company would stop “fact-checking” on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta introduced “fact-checking” several years ago as a way to combat lies and misinformation online. However, Facebook fact-checkers have been accused of censoring unpopular opinions and squelching legitimate speech. For example, last year, Zuckerberg wrote a letter to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee saying the Biden Administration “pressured” his teams to censor content related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a video posted Tuesday, Zuckerberg said, “We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship. . . . The fact-checkers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created.”

Zuckerberg said Facebook would replace “fact-checking” with a community notes system similar to X’s that would let users flag content that may be inappropriate or misleading.

Zuckerberg also said the social media platforms would eliminate restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender “that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse.”

Facebook’s decision to eliminate “fact-checking” sounds like a step in the right direction. In 2021 Facebook disabled Family Council’s advertising account with virtually no notice or explanation.

From time to time we use our Facebook ad account to advertise the stories and videos that we share on social media to make sure that people see them.

Facebook’s cancellation email indicated that we had violated its Unacceptable Business Practices Policy, but did not say exactly what we did wrong. We could not find anything on our Facebook page that ran afoul of that policy.

We appealed Facebook’s decision to cancel our advertising account. After a few days, Facebook sent us another terse email saying our advertising account had been reinstated.

We asked Facebook for an explanation outlining why our account had been disabled in the first place. But we never received any more information. To this day, we aren’t sure what we did that Facebook felt ran afoul of their advertising standards. But coincidentally, Facebook’s cancellation email arrived shortly after we tried to pay to promote a video about about inappropriate material at the Jonesboro Public Library. We’ve always assumed that video had something do with Facebook suspending our advertising account.

Facebook may be taking a step in the right direction, but tech companies still seem to have virtually no accountability when it comes to promoting or suppressing free speech. With that in mind, it’s important for Christians not to depend solely on social media for news and information.

That’s why we encourage all of our friends and supporters to join our mailing list. We send regular update letters and emails filled with information about current events in Arkansas. It’s completely free to sign up.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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