Haley pledges to force social media companies to ban anonymous users, be transparent on algorithms

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said if she is elected president she will force social media companies to be transparent about their algorithms and to ban anonymous users. 

"When I get into office, the first thing we have to do, social media accounts, social media companies, they have to show America their algorithms. Let us see why they're pushing what they're pushing. The second thing is every person on social media should be verified by their name," Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Tuesday on Fox News.

She said that anonymous users pose a "national security threat" and banning such accounts would force people to "stand by what they say." She also said that verifying the accounts would get rid of foreign bots, or fake accounts that push views favorable to countries such as Russia, China and Iran. 

Haley quickly came under fire for her opposition to anonymous accounts. 

"I am no lawyer but isn't this blatantly unconstitutional? Free speech includes anonymous speech," Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential campaign, said on X, formerly Twitter. 

Haley is closing in on DeSantis in the 2024 primary, with one recent poll showing the two tied for second place at 8%. An average of primary polls from FiveThirtyEight shows DeSantis at 14.8% and Haley at 9.1%.

Aaron Terr, the public advocacy director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, one of the top free speech legal groups in the U.S., told Just the News: "Anonymous speech — whether the Founders writing the Federalist Papers or any one of us writing under an anonymous Twitter account — is core protected expression."

He also said: "Prohibiting anonymous online speech poses a greater threat to participation in our democracy — and thus, national security — than Nikki Haley and other politicians who would join her call may realize."

Breitbart reporter Allum Bokhari called Haley's stance an "appalling position" and said: "She wants to make sure journalists can ruin your life whenever you deviate from official narratives. Nikki Haley is the face of establishment tyranny."

Catturd, the username of one of the most famous anonymous accounts on X, said: "I’m really starting to believe that Nikki Haley is clinically insane and a complete psychopath. I’m not kidding. She’s nuts."

Another X account, identified only as Magills, joked: "BREAKING: Nikki Haley has called for The Batman to reveal his identity due to national security reasons."

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.