Fri, Sep. 16, 2011 Posted:
12:32 PM EDT
WASHINGTON – The National Religious
Broadcasters (NRB) group sounded the alarm
Thursday about new media outlets such as
Facebook, Google and Apple, which they say
have written policies that violate the
fundamental rules of free _expression_,
particularly concerning religious free speech.
The NRB released a report at the National
Press Club Thursday analyzing the various
content policies of social networking
websites. What they found was disturbing: new
media platforms Facebook, Apple, Comcast,
AT&T and Google have adopted policies to
censor lawful viewpoints expressing Christian
views or controversial ideas on “hot button
issues.” Some platforms, such as Apple’s
iTunes App Store and Google’s search engine,
have already started to use those policies to
remove orthodox Christian viewpoints
considered “offensive” or too controversial.
Former Federal Communications Commission
Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth said, “The
irony is the companies listed in this report
are some of the most open companies in the
world.”
In a January 2010 interview with TechCrunch
founder Michael Arrington, Facebook Founder
Mark Zuckerberg praised social networking for
opening people up to share “more information
and different kinds, but more openly and with
more people.”
However, Zuckerberg’s social network has
removed content deemed “anti-gay,” according
to the NRB report. It is unclear whether that
censored material contained any religious
_expression_. However, the NRB report warns,
“The position of Facebook on the issue of
homosexuality and its collaboration with gay
right group the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Discrimination (GLAAD), coupled with
its troublesome written policies, are all
strong indicators that its social networking
platform poses a high index of risk for
anti-Christian discrimination.”
The Associated Press caught Comcast blocking
or at least delaying peer-to-peer file sharing
of the King James Bible.
Google has also committed a number of free
speech violations, the NRB report alleges. The
world’s most powerful search engine initially
prohibited the English Christian Institute
from purchasing space for an advertisement
about abortion. It also allegedly blocked a
Massachusetts pro-family website because of
its conservative Christian content. Google
also has also excluded churches and other
faith groups from free or discounted use of
its web tool Google for nonprofits.
Colby May, senior counsel and director for
the American Center for Law and Justice, said
of new media’s apparent split personality,
“Something else is in play.” He and others
attending a panel discussion of the report
suggested that social networking platforms are
under a tremendous amount of pressure from
various special interest groups.
For example, Google removed pages of a
Norwegian anti-Church of Scientology site
after it was pressured to do so by Church of
Scientology lawyers.
And when Facebook, citing its outlined
responsibility policies, abruptly yanked a
fairly innocuous photo of two fully clothed
male actors kissing from the blog post of gay
rights activist Richard Metzger, it sparked
criticism in the gay community, leading
Facebook to repost the photo.
Facebook issued a formal apology and reposted
the picture. The report contrasts this
incident with several others where Facebook
“has permanently and unapologetically removed
sexual content.”
The grossest act of anti-Christian
censorship, according to the report, is
Apple’s removal of the Exodus International
and Manhattan Declaration apps.
Gay rights protesters demonized Exodus’ app
as the “gay cure app,” although the app
primarily advertised the date, times and
locations of its upcoming events. They rallied
more than 107,000 sign petitions asking Apple
to remove the app from the iTunes store. Gay
activists also successfully petitioned the
removal of the Manhattan Declaration.
May lamented Apple’s skewed judgment, saying
it rejected an app for a document that upholds
the sanctity of life and marriage as
“offensive,” but maintains an app for the
violent videogame Grand Theft Auto.
The panelists all expressed the fear that
selective censorship may silence not just
Christianity, but all religions.
May stated that the religious community must
demand that companies such as Google and
Facebook open their media platforms to more
kinds of speech. “When we say ‘open,’ we mean
open ... don’t give the heckler veto,” he
urged.
Roth urged the religious community to educate
the public about the importance of free
speech. He said those in academia –
millennials such as Zuckerman and the early
makers of Google who launched their companies
while attending college – may not be aware of
why censorship, however small, is problematic.
NRB Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Craig Parshall told The Christian Post it
plans to send the report to the offending
companies along with an invitation for
dialogue and discussion. Parshall and others
on the Thursday panel made clear their
preference for change through dialogue rather
than resorting to legislative or regulatory
means. However, if the companies do not
respond, Parshall says the NRB reserves the
right to begin talks with the FCC.
