Congress Wants To Know Why Meta Is Censoring Iranian Dissidents

Congress is investigating the Meta social media network for censoring Iranian dissidents and pro-democracy advocates amid a wave of protests against Tehran’s hardline government, according to a copy of the probe exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Three Republican lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees want information about what steps Meta has "taken to confront infiltration by proponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran" following reports the social media giant is deleting and censoring accounts tied to anti-regime activists. The lawmakers—Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.), Claudia Tenney (N.Y.), and Joe Wilson (S.C.)—also want to know if Meta is investigating claims that Instagram, the video sharing app owned by the company, has "been infiltrated by those sympathetic to the Islamic Republic in Iran."

The probe comes on the heels of reports alleging that Instagram content moderators are deleting and censoring accounts that have documented the regime’s human rights abuses during the latest wave of protests. Those affected claim that Instagram is removing content showing Iranian security forces beating protesters and firing tear gas into crowds.

Social media is a vehicle for anti-regime activists to document the government’s crimes and galvanize international support for their movement. The Iranian government severely restricts internet access to prevent this information from becoming public. Banks and his colleagues say the notion that Meta is helping the Iranian government censor this content represents "an unacceptable threat to their privacy, liberty, and our national security."

Cameron Khansarinia, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, an Iranian-American organization that supports democracy, said social media is critical to the Iranian protest movement.

"Iranian protesters are fighting a multifront war: first and foremost against regime thugs on the street firing live ammunition, but also against the silence of the international community and mainstream media," Khansarinia said. "In this war, social media has been one of their few available tools. Now, not only is it filtered, banned, or entirely blocked by the Islamic Republic, but the companies that tell us they ‘build technologies that help people connect’ are apparently infiltrated by agents of brutal dictatorships looking to make those technologies disconnect and silence freedom movements."

While Iranian activists have long accused social networks like Facebook and Instagram of amplifying Iranian regime propaganda, the latest reports indicate the company may have outsourced its content moderation to regime agents.

Instagram reportedly enlisted a third-party company, Telus International, to police the network’s content. Telus International is alleged to have "been infiltrated by those sympathetic to the Islamic Republic in Iran," according to the lawmakers, citing a BBC Persian report.

https://freebeacon.com/media/congress-wants-to-know-why-meta-is-censoring-iranian-dissidents/

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http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

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