Sen. Hawley: Twitter Should Submit to Third-Party Audit

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) continues to hammer edge providers, a cause the freshman senator has taken up with a passion.

His latest volley is aimed at Twitter.

In a letter to CEO Jack Dorsey, Hawley called for a third-party audit of Twitter's account suspension policies.

Related: Hawley Stakes Out, Stalks Big Tech

That was based on what he said was Twitter's alleged suspension of an account connected to pro-life film, Unplanned, on the week it was opening in theaters.

Hawley has called for ending edge providers' exemption (in Sec. 230 of the Communications Decency Act, from liability for third-party content posted on their sites, which he brands a sweetheart deal. He echoed that in questioning whether Twitter deserved such immunity.

A number of Republicans, including the President, have accused social media sites of censoring conservative speech.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.