Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) told Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson on Thursday that the government should be kept “as far away” from regulating social media bias as possible, warning that “even if you would like the policies that the current administration might employ if it started stepping into this arena,” you probably won’t like the policies a Democratic regime would enact.

Senator Lee said, “You keep government as far away from it as you possibly can. Look, this may be attractive from a distance, to some, at any given moment, but it’s a very dangerous, slippery slope to start opening the door to having the government regulate these platforms.”

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Lee agreed with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s belief that social media platforms shouldn’t be held up as gauges of truth in politics, saying, “And I also think it’s wise to keep the government away from it. Governments have force as their only real weapon. You don’t want force deciding the art of persuasion or deciding the art of communication with social media.”

Fox News host Benson described how a Democratic president might use any increased power Republicans use now to regulate social media for his or her own ends. Lee agreed,  noting, “Yes, yes, that’s exactly the point. And that’s why I say you don’t want to open that door. Because even if you would like the policies that the current administration might employ if it started stepping into this arena, that’s good for now, if you agree with it. But it’s not good for, whether it’s a few months or a few years from now, whenever circumstances might change.”

“And it’s just terrible precedent long term,” Lee added. “This stuff doesn’t belong to the government. It’s not the government’s tool to play with.”

“We need to keep the two of them separated,” the senator finished.

This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.

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