Trump intensifies the war against "political prejudices" with a new reporting tool on social networks

The administration of President Donald Trump on Wednesday launched a new tool to signal alleged political biases as a result of controversial bans targeting high profile Republican personalities on social media.

This tool will allow members of the public to report possible political censorship on Google's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, platforms that the president has often accused of silencing the voices of the right.

"SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS should advance FREEDOM OF SPEECH", according to the form that the official Twitter account of the White House released Wednesday. "Yet, too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned or fraudulently flagged for unclear" violations "of the rules of use."

The administration has qualified the form of "fight for freedom of expression online".

Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images

"No matter what you think, if you think political biases have motivated such action, share your story with President Trump," the website said.

The form prompts users to post screenshots to save their political bias statements. He also asks for the respondent's first and last name, postal code, telephone number and citizenship status.

Once they have provided the required information, the tool asks them to explain what happened to their social media account and if a particular message was targeted.

Capitol Hill Republicans have held hearings for over a year on what they describe as bias against news and conservative views, even suggesting that censorship of some speeches policy raises antitrust issues. But technology companies say that it is not political speech, but rather discourse inciting violence or hatred.

The deployment took place just hours after Facebook, Twitter and Google joined world leaders in France to sign the "Christchurch Call" – a global agreement to combat online hate speech and extremism violent in the aftermath of the deadly murders in a New Zealand mosque.

French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were joined Wednesday by British, Canadian, Jordanian, Indonesian and other leaders to sign the agreement.

The Trump administration hesitated over the deal, citing protections against freedom of expression, but said it agreed in principle.

"The United States is not currently able to join the rider," a White House spokeswoman said Wednesday in a statement. "The best tool to defeat terrorist rhetoric is productive speech."

Michael Beckerman, president of the Internet Association, a professional organization representing most of the biggest technology companies, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, said it would not be a good deal for online platforms. censor users based on political ideologies.

"The platforms of AI member companies do not have political ideology nor political bias, and it would not make sense for companies to stifle the speech of the half – or any significant part – of their customers, "Beckerman said in a statement. "The success and growth of Internet companies depend on a broad base of users, regardless of party affiliation or political outlook."

"It's the best way for them to be inclusive, attract more users and continue to succeed," he added.