SoundCloud purportedly banned journalist Andy Ngo’s podcast over the weekend for allegedly violating the platform’s terms of service.
Ngo, editor-at-large of The Post Millennial, is known for his in-depth reporting on Antifa’s activism and violence. His podcast, “Things You Should Ngo,” was reportedly booted suddenly off the platform SoundCloud about a year after the last episode was published. Ngo was not offered a way to appeal the decision, according to The Post Millennial.
“@SoundCloud has permanently banned me & my podcast @YouShouldNgo. In an email, it says I violated its community guidelines without naming the alleged offending content,” Ngo tweeted Monday. He pointed out that guests on his podcast have included popular figures such as podcaster Dave Rubin, The Spectator associate editor Douglas Murray, and psychologist Jordan Peterson.
“Big Tech is not nonpartisan nor neutral. Being permanently suspended from @SoundCloud without knowing why or even having an opportunity to appeal is how it is now,” Ngo added.
Big Tech is not nonpartisan nor neutral. Being permanently suspended from @SoundCloud without knowing why or even having an opportunity to appeal is how it is now.
Join me on @OnLocals instead to support me & get access to exclusive content: https://t.co/ohiKF2NOs7
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 28, 2021
SoundCloud’s Trust & Safety Team emailed Ngo notifying him that his podcast had been booted from its platform for violating SoundCloud’s terms of use. The platform did not cite a specific violation, though its terms of service bans content that is “abusive, libelous, defamatory, pornographic or obscene, that promotes or incites violence, terrorism, illegal acts, or hatred on the grounds of race, ethnicity, cultural identity, religious belief, disability, gender, identity or sexual orientation, or is otherwise objectionable in SoundCloud’s reasonable discretion.”
SoundCloud’s email to Ngo read in part: “We take the security of our community very seriously. We hope that you can understand that SoundCloud is a place for people to share content which respects our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines,” according to The Post Millennial.
SoundCloud did not immediately return The Daily Wire’s request for comment.
Social media platforms and other “big tech” corporations are increasingly drawing the ire of Republicans and others for censoring mainstream conservative or religious views, such as the claim that biological men cannot become women and vice versa. Elected Republicans are seemingly preparing for a fight against big tech companies over such issues. On Sunday night, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wrote a letter to his caucus outlining the GOP plan to push back against big tech.
“The examples of conservative censorship and bias across internet platforms has proliferated. Each one of you are all too familiar with how Big Tech and its overwhelmingly liberal executives want to set the agenda and silence conservatives,” McCarthy wrote.
He said Republicans should push for reforms to social media platforms protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Reforms “would preclude Big Tech from discriminating against Americans based on their political affiliation,” he said.
McCarthy also said the GOP should push for more transparency from big tech companies in how they make decisions regarding their users and alleged terms of service violations. He also said that the plodding pace of government should not stall GOP action on big tech.
“Conservatives and our ideas have been targeted by Big Tech for too long. We must step up because make no mistake, the Democrats continue to demonstrate no interest in addressing fairness when it comes to conservative viewpoints. And they’ll continue to use Big Tech to do so,” McCarthy wrote.