Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, Mar 14, 2026

House Republicans call out Biden surgeon general for 'colluding with Big Tech'

House Republicans call out Biden surgeon general for 'colluding with Big Tech'

GOP reps raise concerns about Vivek Murthy working with social media platforms to censor coronavirus misinformation

House Oversight Committee Republicans issued a strong rebuke Friday against President Biden's surgeon general for working with social media companies to pull coronavirus disinformation off their platforms.

In a letter to Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Republicans accuse the surgeon general of trying to censor Americans on social media and suggest the White House may be "colluding with Big Tech."

"In an apparent effort to stifle scientific and medical debate, the Biden Administration is taking affirmative steps to moderate and censor Americans’ speech," the letter to Murthy, first obtained by Fox, says. "This is unconscionable."

The letter was organized by GOP Reps. Bob Gibbs of Ohio, Byron Donalds of Florida and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer of Kentucky.

The GOP lawmakers are requesting a trove of documents from Murthy by Aug. 6, including all communication the Surgeon General's office has had with Facebook, Twitter, Alphabet, TikTok, Reddit and Snap.


The lawmakers say the Biden Administration's efforts to work with Big Tech to police objectionable content is a serious threat to the First Amendment.

"It should concern every American of every political stripe that Big Government is teaming up with Big Tech to merge into Big Brother," Gibbs said in a statement to Fox.

Donalds said it's "profoundly concerning to hear that the Biden-Harris Administration is colluding with Big Tech." The freshman lawmaker argued that Americans should have "unfettered information and make decisions for themselves."

The letter to Murthy comes a day after nearly the entire House GOP caucus wrote to President Biden telling him he's acting like a "Cuban dictator" with his social media censorship campaign and urged him to stop working with Facebook and other platforms to flag coronavirus fake news.

With coronavirus cases on the rise and vaccination rates slowing in the United States, the White House launched last week an effort to crack down on misinformation, starting with a warning from Surgeon General Murthy that bogus information about coronavirus is an "urgent threat" to public health.

The Surgeon General's office issued a new report titled, "Confronting Health Misinformation," that makes recommendations for social media platforms to "impose clear consequences for accounts that repeatedly violate platform policies."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also announced that the Biden administration has been "flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation" to have the platform remove.

The White House insists the social media misinformation is literally "killing people" with individuals refusing to get a vaccine against a preventable illness because of lies they are believing on the internet. The White House has been frustrated with social media companies, especially Facebook, for not doing more to pull false content before it goes viral.

For its part, Facebook has pushed back hard against the Biden Administration by touting everything it's done to spread helpful COVID-19 information, such as where to find vaccination sites, and said the White House was just looking for "scapegoats for missing their vaccine goals."

Biden had set a July 4 goal of having 70% of adult Americans at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, but he missed that goal as vaccination rates have slowed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just over 68% of adults in the country had received at least one vaccination shot as of Wednesday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Strait of Hormuz Crisis Forces Saudi Arabia Into Major Oil Production Shut-In
Strait of Hormuz Crisis Forces Saudi Arabia Into Major Oil Production Shut-In
Saudi Arabia Slashes Oil Output as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Cuts Deep Into Gulf Revenues
Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Scene Presses Ahead as Nation Navigates Regional War
Saudi-Pakistan Defence Pact Faces Real-World Constraints as Iran War Escalates
Saudi Arabia Offers Two Million Barrels of Crude From Red Sea as War Disrupts Gulf Exports
Formula One Faces Tens of Millions in Lost Revenue if Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Races Are Cancelled
Formula One Set to Cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix Amid Escalating Middle East War
Saudi Arabia Downs Dozens of Iranian Drones in Major Defensive Operation
Saudi Arabia Cuts Oil Output by About Twenty Percent as Iran War Disrupts Gulf Energy Flows
Formula One Set to Cancel Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix Amid Escalating Iran War
Asian Energy Security Tested as Strait of Hormuz Disruption Threatens Oil Supplies
Iran Sets Three Conditions for Ending Regional War as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify
Saudi Arabia Launches Royal Institute of Anthropology to Examine Social Transformation
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Arrives in Saudi Arabia for High-Level Talks
Saudi Aramco Turns to Ukrainian Drone Interceptors to Shield Oil Infrastructure from Iranian Threats
UK Foreign Secretary Travels to Saudi Arabia to Reinforce Support for Regional Allies
Rising Iran Conflict Casts Shadow Over Saudi Arabia’s $38 Billion Gaming Industry Ambitions
Iran Launches Missile and Drone Strikes Across Gulf as Oil Prices Surge Past $100
Saudi Air Defences Destroy Three Drones Targeting Strategic Shaybah Oil Field
Debate Grows Over Saudi Arabia’s Role in Sudan War Amid US Alliance Questions
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Travels to Saudi Arabia After Discussions With Iranian Leadership
Two Strategic Pipelines Allow Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Bypass the Strait of Hormuz
US Deploys Bunker-Buster Bombs to UK Airbase as Iran Conflict Intensifies
Iran warns of $200 oil as forces target merchant ships in Gulf
Japan to Release 45 Days of Oil Reserves Amid Iran Conflict
Three Commercial Vessels Attacked Near Strait of Hormuz, Thai-Flagged Ship Damaged and Crew Evacuated
Saudi Red Sea Oil Exports Set for Record in March as Kingdom Reroutes Crude Amid Hormuz Crisis
Saudi Arabia Seeks Belgian Military Support After Iranian Missile Attacks
Saudi Arabia Welcomes US Decision to Designate Sudan’s Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organisation
Saudi Aramco Plans Dual Gulf and Red Sea Export Routes as Iran Crisis Disrupts Oil Shipments
Saudi Cabinet Condemns Iranian Attacks and Reaffirms Kingdom’s Right to Defend Its Sovereignty
Ukraine Deploys Counter-Drone Teams to Gulf States as Iranian Drone Threat Expands
Bahrain Grand Prix Faces Uncertainty as Saudi Arabia Works to Keep Formula One Race on Track
Saudi Arabia Faces New Strategic Dilemma in Yemen as Regional War Reshapes Calculations
OPEC Confirms Saudi-Led Oil Output Increase as Iran War Disrupts Global Energy Markets
Pakistan Pledges Rapid Support for Saudi Arabia Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Global Energy Agency Announces Record Release of 400 Million Barrels to Stabilize Oil Markets Amid Hormuz Disruption
Aramco Warns Global Oil Market Faces ‘Catastrophic’ Shock if Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed
Iran Launches Drone and Missile Attacks Across Gulf Targets Including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain
Saudi Arabia Elevates Fahad Al-Saif as Vision 2030 Enters Crucial Implementation Phase
Saudi Aramco Expands Routes to Move Oil Without Reliance on the Strait of Hormuz
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Reaffirm Mutual Defense Cooperation Following Iran Strike
Saudi Arabia Plans Major Ukrainian Arms Deal to Counter Iranian Drone Threat
Pentagon Signals Intensification of U.S. Air Campaign as Iran Conflict Escalates
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham Raises Prospect of Mutual Defense Pact With Saudi Arabia Amid Iran Conflict
Why Saudi Arabia Is Unlikely to Have Wanted U.S. Airstrikes on Iran
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Oil Exports Set to Reach Record High as Gulf Routes Face Disruption
Saudi Arabia Pushes East–West Oil Pipeline Toward Full Capacity as Hormuz Crisis Disrupts Global Energy Flows
Oil Prices Retreat From Peak as G7 Weighs Release of Strategic Reserves
×