A recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has uncovered that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pressured social media companies to censor accounts supporting the Canadian truckers’ Freedom Convoy. Emails exchanged in February 2022 between DHS officials reveal that the Disinformation Governance Board was actively monitoring the protests and working with Big Tech to suppress what they labeled as “misinformation.”
The Freedom Convoy, which led to the shutdown of several critical U.S.-Canada border crossings, including the heavily trafficked Ambassador Bridge between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, began as a protest against vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers. However, it quickly grew into a broader movement opposing vaccine passports and other COVID-19 restrictions.
Support for the convoy surged, with millions of dollars raised in donations. This prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act, freezing the bank accounts of hundreds of Canadians involved in the protest. The protests also coincided with several Canadian provinces rolling back restrictions, including vaccine passports that had barred unvaccinated individuals from various venues.
In a related incident, prominent members of the Freedom Convoy who participated in protests at the Alberta border town of Coutts were later charged by the government. Prosecutors accused them of plotting to murder police officers, but they were ultimately found not guilty of any such conspiracy.
This FOIA revelation raises concerns about the Biden-Harris administration’s involvement in pressuring tech companies to limit free speech, particularly in the context of a foreign protest.
