Trump has declared war against social media companies for censoring conservatives
Which is funny, because Twitter hasn't stopped him from using their platform to attack other users, incite violence, spew bullshit (to his 54 million followers) & generally violate their TOS daily
Which is funny, because Twitter hasn't stopped him from using their platform to attack other users, incite violence, spew bullshit (to his 54 million followers) & generally violate their TOS daily
After carping about this for years and working themselves up into a frenzy over the last 6 months, Republicans have no hard evidence of anti-conservative bias—just anecdotes. In fact, ALL media pages have seen their traffic drop due to changes, especially of Facebook's algorithm
The sites conservatives hold up as examples of supposed bias are, in fact, blatant purveyors in conspiracy theories and other forms of bullshit, using click-bait headlines and other tactics increasingly disfavored by Facebook's algorithms
The hypocrisy is staggering: From 1949 through 2016, the GOP (rightly) decried the FCC's Fairness Doctrine, which, in theory, required political neutrality but actually merely served to discourage coverage of controversial issues and non-mainstream viewpoints, mainly the Right's
Republicans regularly reminded us that the First Amendment shields media, ALL media, against government meddling.
Yet now, Republicans are effectively demanding a Fairness Doctrine for the Internet, twisting the First Amendment into a guarantee for access to media
Yet now, Republicans are effectively demanding a Fairness Doctrine for the Internet, twisting the First Amendment into a guarantee for access to media
You only have to rewind the tape about two years to see just how radical this this flip-flop was, with "limited government constitutionalists" 😂 embracing the radical 1960s Left's "Media Access Theory"
It's like the GOP's complete 180 on Russia, only about the Constitution
It's like the GOP's complete 180 on Russia, only about the Constitution
Hence, April's farce of a Congressional hearing, with the House JUDICIARY Committee (the supposed experts in constitutional law) Republicans using Diamond & Silk to wave the bloody shirt of "SILICON VALLEY CENSORING CONSERVATIVES"
(Never mind that Facebook had tried repeatedly to contact them to restore their page and that the real issue was their frustration in monetizing traffic after Facebook reduced traffic to ALL such pages)
Not a single Republican on the Committee would say what every Republican would have said in a hearing about, say, conservative dominance on talk radio: that the First Amendment bars ANY meddling with speech online, period. Or that "censorship" is something only governments do
That point was left to @TedLieu to make: it was a stupid hearing because there's nothing the government can do
(Sadly, most other Committee Dems descended to trying to entrap Diamond and Silk in perjury charges over a $1000 airline ticket reimbursement by the Trump campaign)
(Sadly, most other Committee Dems descended to trying to entrap Diamond and Silk in perjury charges over a $1000 airline ticket reimbursement by the Trump campaign)
Here's my testimony on why the government should butt out:
techfreedom.org/internet-fairn…
(In case anyone actually gives a shit about the law or substance anymore)
techfreedom.org/internet-fairn…
(In case anyone actually gives a shit about the law or substance anymore)
Related thread about @Instapundit's WSJ column today making essentially the same arguments, only with the veneer of law professor credibility
And the bitterness of having been briefly blocked from Twitter for inciting murder of those protesting Nazis
And the bitterness of having been briefly blocked from Twitter for inciting murder of those protesting Nazis
