Tucker: Google tries to censor content it disagrees with
Google is acting directly to shape what people can say and where they're allowed to speak.
Tucker Carlson blasted Google Tuesday night after NBC News published an article in which a reporter apparently lobbied the search giant to remove two conservative news sites, including the Federalist, from its ad platform over what was deemed offensive coverage of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Most media companies are dependent on Google, who will control 70 percent of all online advertising," the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host said. "So if you're in the news business, you obey Google. When Google tells you to do something, you do it. You have no choice.
"They can bankrupt you in a minute and they will. In all of human history, no single entity is ever had more control over information than Google does right now. So if you're worried about the concentration of power in the hands of a few unaccountable actors, and you very much should be, nobody has more unchecked power than Google does."
EX-CNN ANCHOR SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: NETWORK EXEC TOLD HER TO ONLY HAVE THE 'RIGHT KIND' OF BLACK GUESTS
The NBC report initially claimed that Google "banned" The Federalist and ZeroHedge from Google Ads for "pushing unsubstantiated claims" about Black Lives Matter. Google later pushed back, claiming that The Federalist "was never demonetized," before adding, "We worked with them to address issues on their site related to the comments section."
"Google says it now holds conservative websites responsible for the comments of their readers," Carlson said. "And yet, irony of ironies, thanks to a special carve-out Google has received from the United States Congress -- something called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, remember that -- Google itself is not responsible for content on its platform because the Congress says it doesn't have to be.
"So if you're slandered by someone, for example, and that slander passes through Google's servers, you cannot sue Google over it. Google is immune from the consequences. Immunity is a very nice thing to have."
The host called on Congress to repeal Section 230, saying "if Google will not extend [its] protections to others, Google should not enjoy those protections itself.
"It's been clear for a very long time that the Big Tech monopolies have now surpassed the federal government as the chief threat to our liberties," Carlson said. "Google is acting directly to shape what people can say and what they're allowed to speak. It's a direct effort to stifle free speech."
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Carlson concluded by calling out called out Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Mike Lee, R-Utah, as well as Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., for siding with Big Tech over the constitutional rights of Americans and calling for them to be voted out of office.
"Whose side are they on? Again, let us hope for a vigorous primary challenge to these two and any who share this view year in and year out," Carlson said. "We vote for these people in the fervent hope they will stand up for us when it matters. Now it matters. And now, like every time before they sell us out. Time is up."
Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox