Many of you here on this blog, including me, have been censored by the social media, and it’s always been a one-way street: censorship for us, a free pass for Far Left Crazy.
But an end to that may be in sight.
President Donald Trump says he’s going to sign an executive order against the social media “selectively censoring news,” and defend free speech against “the unchecked power” of Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and the rest (https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/28/donald-trump-signs-exec-order-to-curb-big-techs-unchecked-power/).
Section 230 of the act which exempts the social media from being held liable for any damages incurred because of the content that they post, the Communications Decency Act, does not allow the social media to make “editorial decisions” regarding users’ content. But in recent years, the president said, the social media have disregarded that regulation and become, he said, “nothing more than a political activism group.”
Attorney General William Barr is preparing legislation to put an end to social media censorship.
It’s about time.
Somehow it’s only conservative opinion that ends up getting banned as “hate speech,” only conservative websites that wind up getting shut down or temporarily silenced. We all wanted an Internet that was free of censorship, but we haven’t got it. If the proposed regulations get signed into law, Big Tech will have only itself to thank.
The social media have evolved into a resource used by everyone, but everyone doesn’t get the same treatment. We are not generally in favor of inventing new regulations, but the situation with the social media has gotten out of hand. I shouldn’t have to use a picture of happy puppies every time I want to discuss something deemed controversial. If I don’t, Facebook censors me.
The former Sandinista who’s now the mayor of New York said, not long ago, that if he had his druthers, “Government would determine your day-to-day reality.”
Not on President Trump’s watch, sunshine.