The Biden administration is facing criticism after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said they are “keeping a close eye” on “misinformation” on Twitter, recently acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“This is something that we’re certainly keeping an eye on,” Jean-Pierre said. “Look, we have always been very clear that when it comes to social media platforms, it is their responsibility to make sure that when it comes to misinformation, when it comes to the hate that we’re seeing, that they take action, that they continue to take action. Again, we’re all keeping a close eye on this.”

She continued, “We’re all monitoring what’s currently occurring. We see it with our own eyes of what you all are reporting and just for ourselves what is happening on Twitter.”

“But again, social media companies have a responsibility to prevent their platforms from being used by any user to incite violence, especially violence directed at individual communities, as we have been seeing, and the president has been very clear on calling that out. He’ll continue to do that, and we’re going to continue to monitor the situation,” she concluded.

In response, commentators on the political right have leveled criticism against Jean-Pierre’s statements.

“That statement sounds ominous and is likely a First Amendment violation in and of itself,” tweeted Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute.

Pundit and former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright responded, “These are the words of a regime. Not a republic.”

Dave Rubin, the host of The Rubin Report, said on Twitter, “Absolutely insane watching The Machine go after @elonmusk for defending free speech. This whole exchange is kabuki theater, from the ridiculous question by the ‘journalist’ to KJP’s obviously pre-planned response.”

Jean-Pierre’s comments were prompted by Andrea Shalal, senior correspondent for Reuters, who asked the White House press secretary about Twitter becoming a “vector of misinformation.”

“Why are so many people in the media against free speech?” Musk asked in response to Rubin’s tweet. “This is messed up.”