Fascist Republican Party oppression is intensifying

America’s radical right Republican Party is increasingly aggressive about tracking down and persecuting people they want to track down and persecute. The GOP is dead serious about this. Gizmodo writes:

Republicans Warn Google Not to Limit Search for 

Misleading Anti-Abortion Clinics...Or Else

They said attempts to limit “crisis pregnancy centers,” in search results would, “constitute a grave assault on the principle of free speech.”

A coalition of 17 state attorney generals are pressuring Google to prevent it from limiting the search results of so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” known for masquerading as legitimate abortion clinics and persuading pregnant people away from receiving abortions.

Critics warn unrestricted search results could steer abortion seekers toward these clinics, potentially putting their health at risk. Republicans, on the other hand, say efforts to limit those bad faith clinics in search results amounts to market discrimination against anti-abortion organizations.

In a letter spearheaded by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the Republican lawmakers pushed back against earlier pleas from Democrats and claimed Google’s decision to moderate its results, “would constitute a grave assault on the principle of free speech.” The Republicans then lashed out at previous Democratic efforts to pressure the company before proceeding to, seemingly unironically, threaten Google if they didn’t get their way.

“We wish to make this very clear to Google and the other market participants that it dwarfs: If you fail to resist this political pressure, we will act swiftly to protect American consumers from this dangerous axis of corporate and government power,” the lawmakers wrote.

If Google does opt to alter the search results, Republicans say they will conduct investigations to determine whether or not the actions violate antitrust or religious discrimination laws. In other words, don’t moderate your search results…or else.  

Tuesday’s letter comes partly in response to a June study conducted by the Center for Countering Digital Hate which found 11% of Google searches in trigger law states for the terms “abortion clinic near me” and “abortion pill” directed users toward so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which the CCCDH refers to as “anti-abortion fake clinics.” Google Maps results led users to such clinics 37% of the time. Though these organizations often present as neutral health clinics, critics say their main purpose is actually to dissuade women from going through with abortions. One of those critics is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who last month introduced a new regulation that would direct the Federal Trade Commission to prevent these clinics from engaging in misleading advertising.

“Anti-abortion fake clinics are the conversion therapy wing of an anti-abortion movement that is hell-bent on sending people to jail for abortion, miscarriage, and pregnancy,” Reproaction Co-Founder and Executive Director Erin Matson, said in a statement. “Misleading online advertising targeting abortion seekers is not a new concern, although it becomes more urgent as constitutional protections for abortion disappear.”

Fascist threats by the GOP are now right out in the open. No one can deny or downplay it, except of  course nearly all Republicans and non-republicans who support the GOP. 

As usual, Republicans fall back on crackpot motivated reasoning in issuing their threats. They are demanding that false and misleading advertising by crisis pregnancy centers be forced on people. That is not a concern about free speech. It is a concern that their hate of abortions will be thwarted. The GOP does not care about any speech except its own lies, slanders and other forms of dark free speech. 

American democracy, truth, the rule of law and civil liberties are all in the fight of their lives. All of them are under a massive, direct fascist attack by the Republican Party. This fascist GOP effort is nationwide, not just in the federal government.