I am not outraged over Facebook, Apple, and Google’s having removed Alex Jones and his site Infowar’s content from their sites. It is not censorship: the First Amendment limits the actions of the government and those are private companies. Frankly, I do not understand why anyone would be outraged over it.
I have never listened to Alex Jones, but I think that means used to communicate opinion have evolved to the point that private corporations like Apple, Twitter et al. have immense influence on public discourse, including who gets to speak. It is no longer merely newspapers and people speaking on street corners. Twitter, Facebook et al. are fundamental means of communicating ideas. The time has come to apply the Bill of Rights, including especially the First Amendment, to private corporations, private schools and colleges, etc., not just the federal government. Corporations must not have the ability to suppress speech.
It is the of the same set of issues as Masterpiece Cakeshop.
When you have a set of companies that have oglipolies over digital comminication like Facebook over social networking; YouTube over user generated video; Apple and Google over what can be installed on your phone; one cannot avoid their policies / products even if you hold contrary views.
It’s also important to remember unlike newspapers/TV, these platforms is based on user generated content; ie editing is the opposite of what they promised.
The WSJ yesterday reported Facebook is negotiating a deal to get customer data from Banks; it’s conceivable in 10 years that you will a Facebook account to bank; it’s already happened in China with Tencent.
My preferred solution is to apply antitrust to all these companies.
Declare them utilities and regulate them as such.
Since most of these companies support a Progressive agenda, they should welcome the regulations imposed upon them.
Me, too. That is a different subject than censorship, however.
I’m of two minds – on the one hand, I completely agree with you. On the other hand, these platforms are becoming the de facto commons.