MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Republican attorneys general of Alabama and Louisiana are inviting people to submit complaints if they believe they have been unfairly censored on social media platforms.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and launched an initiative Tuesday that they said is aimed at addressing censorship on social media platforms. They put a form on their websites for people to submit complaints if they believe they have faced “social media censorship.”
Some Republicans have attacked Twitter and Facebook for what they said was censorship of posts by conservative politicians and other social media users. The companies have said they take action to combat dangerous misinformation and posts that could incite violence.
Landry said the reports will be kept confidential and reviewed for violations of state and federal law.
“I encourage all who have been impacted to file a complaint, and I hope this initiative will expose just how far-reaching the suppression has been,” Landry said in a statement.
The attorneys general did not mention any particular posts in announcing the initiative.
“Big Tech is not the Ministry of Truth. It should concern us all when platforms that hold such tremendous power and influence over information wield that power in contradiction of — and with undisguised disdain for — the foundational American principles of free speech and freedom of the press,” Marshall said in a statement.
The Alabama Democratic Party issued a statement accusing Marshall of political pandering.
“Rather than dealing with actual issues like the crisis within our prison system, Marshall chooses to focus on non-issues like this to pander to the far right. Alabama could really use an Attorney General right now. Instead, we get Steve Marshall,” the statement from the Democrats said.
Twitter in January announced it was banning then-President Donald Trump saying Trump continued to tweet in a matter that would encourage people to replicate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.