Big Tech Oligarchy power is getting out of hand.
Twitter opened the door for the big tech oligarchy to censor free speech online on January 8, 2021, when they suspended Donald Trump’s account indefinitely.
The United States government needs to check the power of big-tech and fast. In America, free speech online is largely controlled by five companies; Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Allowing this is extremely dangerous for the right of free speech online and in general.
Since the insurrection at the capital on January 6, 2021, Facebook and has come out to say they will be taking down any posts with the words “stop the steal” when used positively. This action is an extreme overreaction. If Facebook censors this conspiracy, they should update the terms of service to include all conspiracies. This is, without question, censorship and a violation of free speech.
“ Well, they want to stop the conspiracy from resulting in violence.” I hear this a lot, and let me be clear, direct threats of violence are illegal, and those who make such threats should be taken down and ultimately prosecuted. But we can not let oligarch billionaires regulate what we can and can not say online. Glenn Greenwald made a great point about this on an episode of Rising. He makes the point that in light of what happened at the capital, people are letting their emotions get the better of them and not thinking about the other side of the agreement when it comes to who can determine what speech is acceptable or not.
The argument in favor of Twitter and Facebook attacking free speech I hear often is, “it’s a private company, and they can do whatever they want.” Really? Are Facebook and Twitter just private companies? Facebook generated 69.7 million dollars from advertising in 2019. Facebook has 2.7 billion users, and Instagram ( owned by Facebook ) has nearly 1 billion users. Twitter has 330 million users monthly. A platform that generates 70 billion dollars from ads, where massive coalitions are born, and geopolitical strategies are openly discussed is way more than “a private company.” Those who make this argument are mostly younger people, people who hate Trump and consider themselves to be on the political spectrum's left side. This is very interesting because the “private company” argument is 100% a right-wing libertarian argument, which is the side of the aisle they claim to be against. It just goes to prove Greenwald right. People are letting the attack on the capital cloud their judgment. We need to take a step back and ask ourselves, “am I in favor of this decision by Twitter and Facebook only because it’s an attack on the speech I don’t like?”
By far, the worst argument I hear is, “if you do not like it, then make your own platform.” People who make this wild libertarian argument forget that the “big five” tech giants are all effective monopolies. The same people who make this argument will also tell you that Big Tech is not a monopoly, and the market will eventually sort itself out.
They could not be more wrong. The biggest glaring example would be “the internet vs. Parler” I’m sure you know what Parler is by now, but if you don’t, Parler was a social media platform that claimed to be all about free speech and kept data private. In 2020 Parler was among the top 10 social media platforms globally with 8.1 million new downloads. The same weekend Twitter silenced the United States' sitting president, Apple, Google and Amazon launched a full-scale attack on Parler. Because of claims that some of the domestic terrorists at the capital on the 6th of January talked about planning to go to the protest on Parler, Apple and Google removed Parler from their app stores on January 8th-9th. On Monday, January 11th, Amazon delivered the fatal blow revoking Parler’s web services, effectively removing the platform from the internet.
There could not be a more blatant abuse of monopoly power. Apple and Google own the rails for tech companies to get their apps onto consumers’ phones. Removing the app from their stores makes it almost impossible for people to install the app on their personal devices. Amazon revoking Parler’s web service is not only a violation of anti-trust law, but it is a huge free speech issue silencing 8 + million people. So to the “ don’t like it make it” agreement, someone tried and was attacked and expelled from the internet completely. It is also worth mentioning, the VAST majority of the planning of the events of January 6th, 2021, was done on Facebook, not Parler. So when are Apple and Google going to remove Facebook from the app stores?
I am not defending Donald Trump or the horrific events of January 6, 2021. Those who attacked the Capital building should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. This includes members of Congress and President Donald Trump for inciting the attack. Donald Trump should be impeached and convicted in the Senate and barred from holding public office in the future. Members of Congress who gaslit and helped brainwash Americans should resign from service.
What to do about “Big Tech”? I am not entirely sure what would be the best solution. I believe strongly that there should be some form of government regulation. Whether that means a break up of Facebook, Google, and Amazon, or a revision of section 230, or a combination of both, that is not up to me to decide, but what I do know is we can not sit by and let Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai have complete control of public discourse online.
-Grant