Sen. Cruz argues Facebook was censoring COVID-19 content on behalf of the government – Fox News

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, argued on "Sunday Morning Futures" that "it now is clear" that Facebook was "utilizing their monopoly position to censor on behalf of the government" regarding information related to COVID-19 and its origins.

Cruz made the comment reacting to Facebook saying on May 26 thatit would no longer ban posts suggesting COVID-19is man-made amid mounting calls from President Biden and other officials for further investigation into the pandemics origins.

The announcement marked a reversal for the social media giant. In February, Facebook said it would remove posts claiming the virus was man-made or manufactured "following consultations with leading health organizations, including the World Health Organization" who had "debunked" the claim.

"These latest breakthroughshave real consequence becauseit now is clear that Facebookwas operating at the directionof and in the direct benefit ofthe federal government andoperating as the government'scensor, utilizing their monopolyposition to censor on behalf ofthe government," Cruz told host Maria Bartiromo.

He then called it "a very dangerous admissionthat is now out there for Facebook," explaining that there could be legal ramifications for anybody "whosespeech was censored byFacebook" on the topic.

"If you went out andposted the facts that led a yearago to the very stronglikelihood that the COVID virusescaped from a Chinesegovernment lab in Wuhan, China,if you posted that a year agoand they took it down, I thinkthere's a very good argumentyou have a cause of actionagainst Facebook," Cruz said.

"Facebookwould ordinarily say, Were aprivate company, were not liable," he continued.

"Well, you know what, when they act atthe behest of the government, when theycontact [Anthony] Fauci, when they say, 'Should we censor this?' and Faucisays, 'Yes' and they censor it for thefederal government and then magically when thegovernment changes its mind, and say, Oh, allthose facts that were there a year ago,now you're allowed to talk aboutit, they stopped censoring it with aflip of a switch, that lays a very strong argument thatFacebook is operating as a stateagency and that opens verysignificant legal liability."

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A Facebook spokesperson did not respond to Fox News request for comment to Cruzs statements on Sunday.

However, in a statement late last month a Facebook spokesperson said, "In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps."

"Were continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge," the statement continued.

Politico was first to report on the policy change.

Cruz told Bartiromo that he "unfortunately" doesnt expect that the Biden administration "will doanything to hold them [Facebook] to account."

Public calls for further investigation into the pandemics origins intensified in recent days after the Wall Street Journal reported that three researchers at Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology displayed symptoms severe enough to seek hospital treatment. A previous State Department fact sheet noted the researchers had "symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness."

In a statement last month, Biden said he had directed his national security adviser to develop a report on the virus origins, including the possibility that it emerged after a laboratory accident, shortly after he became president. Biden said he has called on intelligence officials to present a report on their findings within 90 days.

Facebook and other social media platforms have faced pressure from both sides of the aisle regarding their COVID-19 content policies. Democratic lawmakers have pressed platforms to crack down on the spread of misinformation, while Republicans, including Cruz, have accused the companies of stifling open debate, including discussions on the lab leak theory.

Cruz also reacted to the trove of recently released emails to and from top government epidemiologistAnthony Fauci, which sparked fierce backlash against him from someRepublicans, including Cruz.

"I got to saythis e-mail dump that came outmakes clear that this is notjust being sloppy, it issystematic, and it is systemically aneffort to mislead the Americanpeople," Cruz told Bartiromo.

Cruz added, "He[Fauci] wasn't doing it alone, but he wasdoing it with much of the U.S.government behind him and withFacebook and Big Tech operatingas an extension of the U.S.government in order to silenceany views that disagreed, notwith the science because hewasn't looking for the science,he was suppressing the science,but rather trying to silenceanything that disagreed with thepolitical narrative that wasconvenient that he was pushingat that moment."

The emails Cruz was referencing were obtained first by BuzzFeedvia a Freedom of Information Act request.

The emails reportedly show that Fauci apparently took seriously questions about whether the virus leaked from a lab early in the pandemic before laterdismissingthe possibility.

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A spokesman for Fauci and TheNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID), where Fauci serves as director, did not respond to Fox News request for comment.

Fox Business Thomas Barrabi and Fox News Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

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Sen. Cruz argues Facebook was censoring COVID-19 content on behalf of the government - Fox News