That's a lovely social media company you've got there.
It sure would be a shame if something were to happen to it.
I was chatting the other day with somebody and the topic of government censorship came up. This was a left-leaning person and they were incredulous that I was saying that our government has been suppressing speech these last few years.
We then both stared at each other as if the other one were insane.
I mentioned the Twitter Files and the famous appearance by Mark Zuckerburg on the Joe Rogan Experience in which he talked about the FBI pressuring Facebook to moderate speech.
This person had never heard of the Zuck/JRE episode and insisted that the Twitter Files were a big ole right-wing talking point nothingburger.
The exchange reminded me how depressingly “siloed” most of us are within our respective news bubbles. It’s hard to speak meaningfully to one another because we aren’t accessing the same history, or even the same recent series of important events.
We don’t consume the same “news”, and each “side” thinks the other is hopelessly brainwashed.
We went round and round for a while and I was eventually able to persuade this person that the government was involved in suppressing speech on social media around the Hunter Biden laptop story and what he called “misinformation” about all things related to Covid and the 2020 election.
But he insisted, A) that the government was acting perfectly responsibly in these instances, and B) that they didn’t suppress anything! This isn’t a 1st Amendment issue. These are private companies and they can and should regulate the content that appears on their own platforms. It only makes sense.
And the government? They weren’t coercing anyone. All they were doing is making helpful suggestions.
At this point, I smiled and painted him a hypothetical situation. Suppose you’re walking down a dark and deserted street, somewhat foolishly sporting a pricy Rolex on your wrist. Suddenly a fellow pops out in front of you on the sidewalk and says boldly, “Hey, that sure is a nice watch you’ve got there.”
Also suppose he’s holding a big shiny revolver in one hand while extending his other hand towards you, palm up.
Uncertain, you start to back away, but then notice two other fellows have appeared behind you, each holding a gun in their hands. These two just stand behind you and stare.
The first fellow puts a growl in his voice and speaks again, “I mean, I really like that watch, man. I’d sure love to have a watch like that.”
So you hand the man your watch and gulp in relief as the three men slink off into the night and you proceed on your way.
If the thief were later pressed, he might say, “Hey, I never threatened anyone. That nice fella just gifted me his watch. Real swell guy.”
But of course, you were robbed. It was the implicit threat represented by those three guns. It’s why brandishing a lethal weapon is considered a crime in all civilized societies.
My conversation partner wasn’t getting the drift, so I then mentioned how Congress summons social media CEOs to Washington DC to harass and threaten them in person. I also mentioned how presidents and legislators use the threat of revoking Section 230 protections to influence how they moderate content.
And of course, add to that the constant threat of regulation that social media companies are subject to. The FCC already wields a very heavy hand over all aspects of electronic communication, and occasionally threatens to tighten its grip on the Internet with schemes like Net Neutrality.
So, did the government coerce the social media companies in a way that violates the 1st Amendment? Of course they did. Each and every one of their helpful “suggestions” as to what these companies should do was a violation of the US Bill of Rights.
Because the government is always brandishing.
I don’t know if I persuaded that guy, but it made for an interesting conversation, and hopefully an interesting story for you, dear reader.
Naturally,
Adam
PS: If you enjoyed this post (or any of the others at hamannature.substack.com) please consider sharing them with your friends. It would help this little project of mine grow, and the worst that could happen is you and your friends can have a good laugh at what a silly goose this Haman fellow is.
Thanks!
If only the Framers had stopped after the first five words, "Congress shall make no law." Sigh.