Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., on Wednesday called for a government takeover of social media so that they are operating in the interests of the "public good" and not "private interests."
The comments came towards the end of a House Oversight and Accountability Committee at which former Twitter executives testified about the company's decision to initially block a New York Post article in October 2020 about the contents of a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden.
Bush accused her Republican colleagues of having a "ridiculous politically motivated obsession with Hunter Biden." She called the hearing a "distraction from their inability to govern" and the "lack of accountability of social media platforms."
Speaking to former Twitter employees, the "Squad" member alleged that company consistently steamrolled concerns of "equity and safety" in the interest of pursuing profits for its billionaire executives and shareholders.
FORMER TWITTER LEGAL CHIEF ADMITS EXTENDED LOCK ON NEW YORK POST'S ACCOUNT A MISTAKE
"We know this situation must change but I would argue that the structure of these corporations ensures this malpractice will continue. These social media companies have shown themselves unfit to maintain the Digital Public Square with almost universal usage and vast power," Bush said.
Such problems, Bush said, cannot be solved with a tweak around the edges. Instead, the congresswoman argued, "we need to re-envision what the Internet can be."
"Digital platforms, including social media, are here to stay, but we need to make sure that they operate for the public good and not the private interests," Bush said. "We need to invest in better alternatives to big tech. And we need to establish public ownership and control to ensure these platforms serve everyone fairly."
FOX Business has reached out to Rep. Bush’s office to clarify her comments.
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Former Twitter executives conceded Wednesday they made a mistake by blocking a story about the president's son from the social media platform in the run-up to the 2020 election, but adamantly denied Republican assertions they were pressured by Democrats and law enforcement to suppress the story.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
