Thread by @docrussjackson

Why were tech platforms reluctant to moderate Trump’s posts, even as he repeatedly violated hate speech regulations?

The same reason why #Grenfell happened, why most jobs are insecure & low paid, why $26 trillion is held offshore, & why democracy is on the ropes: #deregulation.

Libertarian billionaires push to deregulate *everything* to help consolidate their power & wealth: they fund deregulatory political parties & try to saturate online, print & broadcast media with voices sympathetic to reducing Governments' ability to regulate their activities.

In particular, Libertarian-billionaire-funded, deregulation-supporting populist nationalist politicians' leverage of social media to spread bigoted conspiracy theories & #propaganda has gone largely unchecked amid a vacuum of laws regulating government speech on social media.

"In the absence of meaningful regulation, tech companies have had little incentive to regulate their massively profitable platforms, curb the spread of falsehoods that produce engagement & moderate the president." They also benefit from low-tax policies.

theguardian.com/us-news/2021/j…

“The violence that we witnessed today in our nation’s capital is a direct response to the #misinformation, conspiracy theories & hate speech that have been allowed to spread on social media platforms” - Jim Steyer, of @CommonSense Media.

https://twitter.com/CommonSense/status/1347349131191324672

“Social media platforms must be held accountable for their complicity in the destruction of our #democracy."

We need to "consider those in power as a potential source” and ensure "no future president can ever #propagandize the American people in this way again.”

Free speech is precious, but like democracy, fragile.

Divisive thugs who want to deregulate everything, pretend white people are under attack, demonise minorities, & use deliberately inflammatory rhetoric for political gain, are the enemies - not the defenders - of free speech.