Leaked docs show Facebook made portal for feds to report misinfo, report says
WASHINGTON (TND) — Leaked confidential documents allegedly indicate Facebook developed an end-to-end process for government agencies to report misinformation, according to The Intercept.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking to uncover collusion between major social media companies and the federal government to censor free speech around topics such as COVID-19.
The courts subsequently compelled the Biden administration to turn over communications between federal officials and social media platforms which, according to Schmitt, revealed an extensive “Censorship Enterprise” between multiple government agencies and social media platforms.
READ MORE: “Biden admin colluded with social media companies to censor speech, state AGs say”
Now, a parallel investigation by The Intercept has allegedly uncovered “confidential” documents from Facebook illuminating the presence of a “Facebook Content Request System” for government agencies.
According to the documents, the “Government Reporting System” could be accessed via a specific web address with an approved government or law enforcement email address.
As of October 31, 2022, the URL “facebook.com/xtakedowns/login,” which was listed on the leaked documents obtained by The Intercept, still appeared to be functioning normally.
The National Desk (TND) reached out to both Facebook and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to learn whether they could confirm or deny the existence of the reporting system, but never received a response.
“This censorship is not done at the sole or even primary initiative of Big Tech. It is so often done in conjunction with the US Govt and US Security State, which demands it,” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted, following The Intercept’s report. “The head of Big Tech's censorship scheme is the Biden WH and the US Security State. I can't stress this vital truth enough.”
Lee Fang, one of The Intercept report's co-authors, indicated in a tweet that Twitter created a similar government reporting system as well.
Additionally, some tech companies met monthly with the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and other government representatives prior to the 2020 presidential election, The Intercept reports.
