There has been a lot to say about the seemingly unified "purge" of conservative voices out of the public square since the Capitol riot. It appears that corporations have used the unrest as an excuse to do what they've wanted to for a while, cutting out the voices they don't like, under the rubric of damage control. Apart from the suspension of the President's accounts, many conservative Twitter personalities claimed they lost thousands of followers overnight. Reports are also surfacing of people losing their jobs for attending the rally in D.C.
Spiked editor Brendan O'Neill writes about the dangerous precedent that was set by the removal of President Trump's accounts from Twitter. O'Neill notes that Jack Dorsey, Twitter's CEO, said the President was not banned for what he actually said, but "based on how other people might read and interpret his words. [Twitter] says its censorious motivation is ‘specifically’ the question of ‘how [Trump’s tweets] are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter.’" The pre-emptive censorship has huge implications if these platforms retain a monopoly over public discourse.
It's clear that the President has often used his tweets for ill, such as denigrating his opposition, throwing shade on people's reputations, his unmerited boasting and half truths. But it's also clear that the standards and policies of tech platforms are not applied equally by the Silicon Valley oligarchs. Pointing that out seems to fall on deaf ears, with @Jack's response really amounting to a "sorry-not-sorry".
Apart from the piecemeal application of the rules, the banning of accounts from social media sites has many arguing that these "platforms" are actually "publishers", meaning they should be subject to the same rigorous regulations as other news outlets. You know, the same strict standards that cable news companies have? Still, it would probably be an improvement..
Jack Dorsey suggested that "If folks do not agree with our rules and enforcement, they can simply go to another internet service." Glenn Greenwald says it's not that easy.
But it is not all doom and gloom. A large chunk of people have had enough of the double standards and voted with their feet, leaving the major platforms in droves, causing stock to drop. And in a sneaky move, Gab backed up and recreated Trump's Twitter account before it was shut down, hoping to lure President Trump to their platform. Look, Mr. President, shin-eee!
Towards the end of her recent interview on Issues, Etc, Joy Pullman listed a handful of small things that Mad Christians can do to improve their privacy. Consider changing to a browser like Brave and diminishing the power of Silicon Valley over your life by buying less from Amazon. She encourages people to build networks of interpersonal communication rather than having your relationships mediated through tech giants who do not share your values or have your interests at heart. So reach out and touch someone!
While there is no digital equivalent of "commons" on the internet - a shared space accessible to everyone - people are looking for places where they are free to converse like normal humans, without being monitored or being told what to think. It may be too late for Parler but a number of alternatives to the big apps are out there, if you are looking for them.
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