Even though social media platforms are run by private companies, the First Amendment should apply to them in some fashion, suggests one congresswoman.

In the April 26 committee hearing on “Filtering Practices of Social Media Platforms,” House Representative Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., spoke out about her own personal experience with conservative censorship on social media.

“Last October, Twitter blocked my campaign launch video from its ads platform due to my pro-life message,” the congresswoman told the committee. “This ban threatened the fundamental freedom to engage in political speech.”

Blackburn was referring to her experience in 2017 when Twitter blocked one of her political ads, calling it “inflammatory” and arguing that it could have “evoked a strong negative reaction.” In the hearing on April 26, Blackburn retaliated that political speech is protected on other private platforms such as broadcasting, and made the point that “we must protect its [political speech] access to an important platform.”

She also questioned why the social media platforms’ mistakes were generally made against right-wing content. Blackburn said:

“Twitter reversed its decision in my case but the bans keep coming. Just a few days ago, Google banned a large Lutheran denomination from its ads platform. YouTube banned the entire channel of Spikes Tactical, a well-known firearms manufacturer. When bans get reversed, we are told, well, mistakes are made. But why is it that the mistakes nearly always seem to run in one direction?”

The representative further argued that in this new age of technology, social media platforms are the new public square, and their owners are the new governors. The problem with this concept, according to Blackburn, was that “these governments do not have a First Amendment.”

“Free speech, as a value, is endangered even here in America and is non-existent in most of the world,” she said. “We need to recognize that the global reach of these companies creates overwhelming pressure against free speech.”

The hearing also had famous YouTube conservatives and Trump supporters Diamond and Silk testify. Representatives from Google, Twitter, and Facebook declined the invitation to show at the hearing.

Blackburn's full speech is below. Click "expand" to read more: